Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Obeid

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning a defamation claim brought by Mr. Obeid. The dispute centred on a radio broadcast by the ABC which Mr. Obeid alleged was defamatory. The ABC sought to rely on defences of statutory and common law qualified privilege.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the broadcast, viewed as a whole, was defamatory of Mr. Obeid. It also had to consider the principles governing the application of qualified privilege, specifically the extent to which an inquiry into the conduct of the subject of a broadcast is necessary for the purposes of the privilege to apply. The court also considered the meaning of "publication" in the context of a radio broadcast and the perspective of an "ordinary reasonable listener".

The Court of Appeal dismissed the ABC's appeal, finding that the broadcast was capable of being defamatory of Mr. Obeid. The judges applied established principles of defamation law, including the test for determining whether matter is defamatory, which involves considering how an ordinary reasonable reader or listener would understand the publication. The court also analysed the requirements for qualified privilege, concluding that the ABC had not established the defence in this instance. The summons for leave to appeal was also dismissed. Consequently, the ABC was ordered to pay Mr. Obeid's costs of the appeal and the summons for leave to appeal.