Labor and Greens senators will try to force ABC managing director David Anderson return to Canberra to face questions over the Christian Porter defamation settlement.
Christian Porter is correct â this is an extremely unsatisfactory state of affairs
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MarMarch 2021 at 2:02am
Systems change. Often to account for the new audibility of a group or person hitherto silenced by circumstance or powerlessness.
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The rule of law is a fine thing. It is, at its simplest, the principle that laws be applied equally, that an accused is innocent until proven guilty, that proper checks and balances exist upon the exercise of power, that access to justice be available for all.
Christian Porter â the Attorney-General, the custodian of Australian laws â this week appeared drawn and pale as he confronted the disorienting prospect of a world in which the rule of law did not apply.
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Former senator David Leyonhjelm will have to pay Sarah Hanson-Young $120,000 in damages after the full Federal Court on Wednesday slammed defamatory comments he made about her in 2018 as âobviously sexistâ, âpuerileâ, âpungentâ and âboysâ-own locker-room gossipâ .
The Greens senator praised the decision, which dismissed an appeal by Mr Leyonhjelm of an earlier defamation finding, as âa timely and crucial message that women deserve to be safe and respectedâ and that politicians âare not above the lawâ.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, centre, and her barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, left, outside court.Â
Joel Carrett
The comments arose in media interviews made after Mr Leyonhjelmâs âstop shagging menâ attack on Ms Hanson-Young in the Senate, and included claims that she was a âmisandristâ who thought âall men are rapistsâ.
Former senator David Leyonhjelm today lost his appeal against a defamation ruling and must pay A$120,000 compensation to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for his comments that she should “stop shagging men”.
“It is hard and difficult to do,” said Senator Hanson-Young of the proceedings. “But by supporting the women who dare to speak up, we are supporting the rights of women and girls to be respected, everywhere.”
Women have long fought to silence rumours told about them, and to exercise agency over their own narratives and experiences.
Depending on cultural and historical context, the law has worked and continues to work to either hinder or help this process.