Christian Porter wants ABCâs âentire defenceâ thrown out, court told
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Christian Porter has asked the Federal Court to throw out the bulk of the ABCâs defence to his defamation claim, the broadcasterâs barrister said as the parties locked horns in court.
The ABCâs hotly-anticipated defence to Mr Porterâs defamation claim was filed in the Federal Court on Tuesday night but has yet to be released publicly.
Former attorney-general Christian Porter is suing the ABC for defamation.
Credit:Steven Siewert, Trevor Collens
Christian Porter defamation trial slated for October
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Christian Porterâs defamation claim against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is likely to proceed to trial this year after the judge set aside six weeks for a hearing that could start in October.
At a case management hearing in Sydney on Friday, Justice Jayne Jagot of the Federal Court delayed making a finding on whether parts of the ABC defence, filed on Tuesday, should be made public.
Justice Jagot said the only purpose of the hearing was to see if an interim injunction should be in place until arguments could be prepared, but Mr Porterâs legal team pressed for the court to consider a trial date.
âScandalousâ: Porterâs new ABC battle PERTH, AUSTRALIA â NewsWire Photos APRIL 14, Prime Minister Scott Morrison & new Industry Minister Christian Porter. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sharon Smith
Politics by Samantha Maiden 7th May 2021 3:59 PM Former Attorney-General Christian Porter has asked the Federal Court throw out the ABC s scandalous defence to his defamation claim relating to the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in 1988. The court today agreed with Mr Porter s request to suppress 25 pages of the 37-page defence document pending the outcome of the politician s strike-out application. This sparked accusations from the ABC that his legal move was an offence to open justice.
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Former attorney-general Christian Porter is trying to control how a defamation proceeding is reported and what information is made public, the ABC s legal team has argued in the Federal Court.
Mr Porter is seeking to strike out parts of the ABC s defence in defamation proceedings concerning historical rape allegations, which he denies.
The public broadcaster s defence contains material that is evasive or ambiguous and/or scandalous, according to an application filed on behalf of Mr Porter.
On Friday Renee Enbom QC, representing the public broadcaster and journalist Louise Milligan, said it was unfair to publish all 13 pages of Mr Porter s submission if significant parts of their defence were suppressed.