TREASURER Joe Hockey has been successful in his defamation suit against Fairfax Media, and awarded damages of $200,000 in Sydney’s Federal Court today. 

Justice White upheld Mr Hockey’s claim that a headline splashed on the advertising poster of the Sydney Morning Herald on May 5, 2014 — claiming the Treasurer was “for sale” — had defamed the Treasurer, as did two tweets published on the Age’s Twitter account the same day.

Fairfax had “not made out their claims of qualified privilege’’, Justice White said. He awarded Mr Hockey $120,000 for the defamatory headline in the Sydney Morning Herald and a further $80,000 for the Age tweets.

Mr Hockey’s remaining claims against the Fairfax publications were dismissed.

Mr Hockey and Fairfax’s fleet of editors and senior reporters at the centre of the suit were not in attendance in court.

The defamation suit was heard over an explosive week of hearings in March, based on claims by the Treasurer that Fairfax Media defamed him by publishing a front-page article on May 5, 2014, in its mastheads, stating that the Treasurer was “for sale”.

Mr Hockey believed the headline directly implied corrupt behaviour on his part.

The article examined Mr Hockey’s link with a group the North Sydney Forum, whose business and industry lobbyist members, Fairfax claimed, paid substantial fees in order to meet with and subsequently influence the treasurer.

In his opening address, Mr Hockey’s counsel Bruce McClintock SC said the article was an act of “spiteful and vindictive’’ revenge by SMH editor in chief Darren Goodsir, the Age editor in chief Andrew Holden and senior political writers Sean Nicholls and Mark Kenny, against Mr Hockey after he demanded an apology over an inaccurate article linking him to funds gained from the Eddie Obeid-linked Australia Water Holdings.

In giving evidence at the hearing in March, Mr Hockey was grilled extensively by Fairfax silk Dr Matthew Collins QC, in which he flatly denied his position and his policy could be bought.

“I have accepted no money, Dr Collins, at all, from any individual or any corporate,’’ he said when asked where the $22,000 NSF membership was spent.’’

Mr Hockey told the court: “I am upset at the suggestion I and public policy could be bought.”

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/treasurer-joe-hockey-awarded-200000-de...

John Smith wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:01pm:



Wondered when the rats would come out with silly one liners........you never disappoint Jack Shite....

Resolute wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:03pm:


yes, your one liner on the other hand was a literary masterpiece 

fvvck you righties are so stupid.

John Smith wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:06pm:


Fixed.

aquascoot wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:04pm:


Good call . He has after all single handidly doubled the budget deficit .

Its time wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:17pm:


Wrong again. Seriously, don't you EVER get tired of being wrong ALL THE TIME?

aquascoot wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:04pm:


Oh, I'm sure he'll put it into real estate, dear. He and his wife have a handsome portfolio worth a few million already.

He even rents one off his wife for $250 a night. The suckers foot the bill.

Thank heavens the grown-ups are back in charge.

John Smith wrote on Jun 30^th, 2015 at 3:25pm:


That's not Armchair's fault, JS. Armchair gets everything out of the Tele.