Uniform defamation laws in Australia: Moving towards a more 'reasonable' privilege?

Rhonda Breit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new uniform defamation regime now operates in Australia. This article canvasses the Uniform Defamation Laws (UDLs), focusing on the defence of qualified privilege and its capacity to protect mass media publications in the public interest. Drawing on case law and analysis of the key approaches to statutory privilege, the article evaluates the current approach to statutory qualified privilege. Taking account of observations in O'Hara v Sims (2008, 2009) about the operation of qualified privilege, it questions whether the UDL statutory qualified privilege will ultimately censor publications in the public interest and restrict the application of the qualified privilege defence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9-20
Number of pages12
JournalMedia International Australia
Issue number138
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2011
Externally publishedYes

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