Murdoch v Private Media Pty Ltd

The case of Murdoch v Private Media Pty Ltd involved a defamation claim brought by Mr Murdoch against Crikey, an online publication, and its editor. The central issue was the nature and scope of the public interest defence under section 29A of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW), focusing on whether certain facts pleaded by Crikey were relevant to the public interest defence. The court had to decide whether the facts pleaded by Crikey were relevant to determining whether the publication concerned an issue of public interest, and if the pleadings were sufficient for the defence. The court also considered whether the pleadings adequately addressed the reasonable belief element of the defence, including the relevance of malice.

The court held that it was at least arguable that the facts pleaded by Crikey were relevant to determining whether the publication concerned an issue of public interest. The court rejected the argument that the issue of public interest should be determined solely based on the content of the article and facts that could be judicially noticed. The court found that the pleadings, though not perfect, disclosed a reasonably arguable defence under section 29A, and that the deficiencies could be remedied by providing further particulars. The court also concluded that the pleading of the Lange defence, though less than ideal, was not so deficient as to warrant being struck out and could be remedied by providing further particulars. Consequently, the interlocutory applications by both parties to strike out certain paragraphs of the defence were dismissed.

The court ordered that the interlocutory application by Mr Murdoch dated 22 September 2022 be dismissed, and that the interlocutory application by Crikey dated 5 October 2022 be dismissed as well. The costs associated with these interlocutory applications were reserved for determination at a later stage. The court's decision emphasised that the final determination of the public interest defence and other related issues should be made at the trial once the evidential and factual issues are crystallised.