Christian Porter and barrister Sue Chrysanthou facing $500,000 costs bill: court

The dispute over Christian Porter’s barrister has continued, with a fight over how a ‘substantial sum’ in court costs should be worked out.

An argument over $500,000 in legal costs has erupted in the Federal Court as the fight between Christian Porter’s barrister and a friend of the woman who accused the former attorney general of raping her three decades ago rolls on.

Mr Porter sued the ABC for defamation over a story by journalist Louise Milligan alleging an unnamed senior minister was the subject of a historical rape allegation dating back to 1988.

Following intense public speculation, the now minister for industry publicly outed himself as the accused minister and strongly denied the allegation. No charges have ever been laid.

He briefed high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC in his case against the ABC, but she was restrained from acting for him after Joanne Dyer argued she had given the barrister confidential information related to her friend, known as Kate, in a discussion in November 2020.

Joanne Dyer argued she had given Ms Chrysanthou confidential information potentially relevant to Mr Porter’s defamation case. Picture: Adam Yip / NCA NewsWire

Mr Porter, who has since settled his case with the ABC, is appealing the decision restraining Ms Chrysanthou.

Justice Tom Thawley ordered Ms Chrysanthou and Mr Porter to pay Ms Dyer’s costs in June.

But the court heard on Tuesday morning there remains a dispute about whether the parties can agree on a lump sum costs order or whether the amount should be assessed by the court.

Barrister Anna Horvath said Ms Chrysanthou needed invoices and time sheets to properly understand how the “substantial sum” had been calculated before she could decide if she supported a lump sum costs order.

These documents had been requested twice in June and not handed over, Ms Horvath said.

Christian Porter has settled his defamation case against the ABC. Picture: Martin Ollman / NCA NewsWire

“The substance is just, you’ve got a lump sum of $500,000 odd but just don’t know how it’s calculated or made up?” Justice Thawley said.

Ms Horvath said several things were unclear, including why some work had been done by a partner instead of a solicitor and whether some costs should be included at all.

“I don’t really understand why one wouldn’t provide the timesheets and the invoices,” Justice Thawley said.

Ms Dyer’s barrister, Michael Hodge, said it was “not true” the invoices were requested twice in mid-June and the “actual history” involved an “ambiguous request” for supporting documents on July 2.

“It’s fine, we’ll just do it by Friday,” he added.

Ms Horvath said she didn’t want to “get into squabbles” but Ms Chrysanthou’s solicitors had specifically asked for the invoices on June 15 at 2.56pm.

“There’s a debate, I don’t think it really matters too much,” Justice Thawley said.

He ordered the invoices be handed over and referred the matter to a court registrar for resolution.