Page 4376 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 19 November 1991
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Government's intention to leave the draft legislation on the table until next session. This will give members and the ACT community an opportunity to examine and comment on the proposal. I propose that the Community Law Reform Committee will coordinate this consultation process.
The draft Bill is a significant milestone in the reform of Australian defamation laws. It brings ever closer the day when we will have one simple defence of justification, court recommended corrections, protections for innocent publication, and other measures to encourage media responsibility. If adopted in the ACT and the other States, the fact of uniform laws will help to clear our courts of the forum shoppers. Sometimes on the most tenuous of connections, litigants have commenced actions in the ACT simply because of the perception that the ACT provides particular advantages to plaintiffs.
The draft Bill is not a code. It complements rather than replaces the common law. The draft Bill provides that truth is a defence to an allegation of defamation. However, truth is not a defence when the publication constitutes an unjustified intrusion into the plaintiff's privacy. A breach of privacy will be justified only when it is in the public interest. Clause 21 provides a number of examples where an intrusion on a person's privacy might be justified - such as a person's safety.
Clause 22 provides that publication of parliamentary papers attracts absolute privilege. Other provisions preserve defences based on qualified privilege, such as multiple publication, mistaken identity and information. In addition, certain classes of official documents also gain a limited protection. The draft Bill also protects fair comment and situations where there is little likelihood of harm.
Perhaps the most important changes proposed in this draft Bill are those relating to the publication of corrections and offers of amends in the event of innocent publication. The Bill also provides for the appointment of mediators to advise on corrections and replies. In some cases, an offer of amends will constitute a defence. In other situations, corrections will reduce any damages. The draft Bill, however, leaves open a number of areas for action by various jurisdictions. The uniform Bill will need to be slightly reworked to fit the ACT situation, and I have asked the Community Law Reform Committee to consider this matter in greater detail.
While the draft Bill touches on the issue of privacy regarding the defence of truth, it does not attempt to deal with the issue of a new action for privacy. This is a matter that the Community Law Reform Committee is considering, particularly in the light of recent events in South Australia. The draft Bill also does not deal with a
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