Nationwide News Pty Ltd v O'Connor

Nationwide News Pty Ltd (the publisher) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a judgment of the Supreme Court of New South Wales which had awarded damages to Mr O'Connor for defamation. The dispute concerned articles published by Nationwide News which Mr O'Connor alleged were defamatory of him.

The High Court was required to determine whether the articles published by Nationwide News were defamatory of Mr O'Connor, and if so, whether the defence of qualified privilege was available to the publisher. The court also considered the extent to which the defence of honest opinion was applicable in the circumstances.

The majority of the High Court (Deane and Toohey JJ) found that the articles were capable of bearing a defamatory meaning and that the defence of qualified privilege was not made out because the publisher had acted with malice. McHugh J, dissenting, found that the articles were not defamatory and that qualified privilege would have been available had they been. The court applied established principles of defamation law, including the test for defamatory meaning and the elements of qualified privilege and honest opinion.

The appeal was dismissed, with Nationwide News Pty Ltd ordered to pay Mr O'Connor's costs.