Clive Palmer (left) and Mark McGowan.Credit:Fairfax
Both Palmer and McGowan gave evidence (the premier having to fly to Sydney and isolate for seven days on his return to Perth). Palmer was described as an “indefatigable litigant” who,while confident and intelligent,“carried himself with the unmistakable aura of a man assured as to the correctness of his own opinions” and on whose evidence it was not “safe to place any significant reliance”.
McGowan fared better,and although he was an “impressive witness” his occasional unwillingness to answer questions exhibited “the muscle memory of a questioned politician”. Perhaps the witness who emerged most scathed was John Quigley,the WA attorney-general. His evidence was described as “confused and confusing” and his second appearance in the witness box (to clarify his earlier evidence) was found only to have added to the fog of confusion. Text messages with the premier revealed embarrassing exchanges about Quigley’s private life and his views on Palmer. The WA Opposition is now calling for his resignation.
Credit as a witness “in issue”:WA Attorney-General John Quigley.Credit:Philip Gostelow
Both men technically made out their claims,but was it worth it? For defamation winners and losers,and everyone in between,the costs and stresses are substantial.
Geoffrey Rush was successful in his defamation case against Nationwide News in 2019,being awarded record damages of almost $3 million. However,the publicity generated by the hearing was ugly,the actress Eryn Jean Norvill was forced out into the open as his accuser,and another actress,Yael Stone,emerged with her own allegations of improper behaviour.
Two months ago,Craig McLachlan pulled the pin on his defamation claim against Nine (publisher of this masthead),the ABC and actress Christie Whelan Browne,after four years of litigation.[The author acted for Nine and Whelan Browne in the case.] He had commenced the claim after four women accused him of sexual impropriety and bullying. On the day he discontinued his case,11 women were lined up to give evidence against him. McLachlan blamed his decision on the toll the case had taken on his family’s and his own mental health. Add to that the impact on his accusers.
Christian Porter’s case against the ABC ended in a settlement,but not before some details of the defendants’ truth case were made public. While he described the settlement as a “humiliating backdown” by the ABC,that is a contested view for an outcome where the ABC gave no apology and Porter obtained no verdict,no take-down,and only his costs of the mediation as well as a brief editor’s note to the story. The case also generated its own spin-off litigation,with later judgments about whether the full ABC defence should be made public (no) and whether Porter’s barrister should have accepted the brief (no).