Waterhouse v Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal in *Waterhouse v Australian Broadcasting Corporation*. The dispute concerned allegations of defamation brought by Mr. Tom Waterhouse against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) arising from a television broadcast.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the ABC could rely on the defence of qualified privilege in relation to the defamatory statements made about Mr. Waterhouse. Specifically, the court had to consider the scope of qualified privilege in the context of media reporting and the circumstances under which a broadcaster might be protected from liability for defamatory publications.

The High Court ultimately found that the ABC was not protected by qualified privilege. The judges reasoned that while there is a public interest in the dissemination of information concerning matters of public concern, the privilege does not extend to the publication of defamatory material that is not reasonably related to that public interest. In this instance, the court determined that the broadcast contained defamatory material that went beyond what was reasonably necessary to inform the public about the relevant matters, and therefore, the defence of qualified privilege was not available.