In this session, those who appeared in some of the high-profile cases that prompted the reforms address the nature of the forthcoming changes and those still being debated, and their significance to the evolution of defamation law, freedom of expression and the changing media landscape in Australia.
On 4 September 2019, Dr Matt Collins AM QC gave a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra about the law of defamation in Australia. In that speech, he advocated that the defamation laws were out-of-date and flawed. He advocated that there should be a new cause of action: declaration of falsity and that the burden to prove falsity ought to reside with the plaintiff.
The speakers at this seminar will debate the contents of his speech and discuss where the laws of defamation are headed.