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Australian blogs really chilled by defamation laws

“A blog entry about a person will be considered defamatory if reasonable people would think less of the person because of the entry.” Wow! Can that be true?

That’s per a story in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald about the Florida defamation verdict against the woman who called another woman a crook on an online message board.

In addition, law lecturer at the University of Sydney, David Rolph, says given the global nature virtue of the Internet, bloggers could be liable for defamation in more than one country. Guess I’ll be be careful when I talk about you blokes down under.

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  • http://mediatorblahblah.blogspot.com/ Geoff Sharp

    Yes mate,
    Fair dinkum, you’d have to have a few too many kangaroos loose in the top paddock to go bad mouthing Downunder after that ruling.
    Geoff Sharp
    Commercial Mediator & Barrister
    New Zealand
    Blog: http://mediatorblahblah.blogspot.com/

  • William Burke

    Is this justice for little children?
    The mother gives up her academic pursuits so he can pursue his dream, she has very difficult pregnancies, he is about as present as someone on another planet living a double life so he can use her and her family, he never bothers about the babies, puts the mother down systematically, wears her into the floor psychologically and emotionally, isolates her socially, deprives her of access to the bank accounts so she has to get social security and, when it falls apart totally, he steals the children, sets himself up with a another woman, presumably to use her too but she has not realised that yet, goes into business with the brother and his slut who helped destroy the marriage and who sued him and tells the Family Court of Australia that SHE is an unfit mother. It is clear to Blind Freddy that this guy is a control freak supremo….setting lots of things up just for himself, the supreme liar whose whole family have been parasites on the backs of everyone they meet who is useful to them…they never pay their dues to the taxman nor anyone else if they get away with it.meanwhile the naive wife goes on believing that he is only surrounded by liars and parasites until she has to face the truth. Her solicitor is incompetent, yet another liar, one wonders how this one got through any school system never mind the law faculty of one of Australia’s rural universities and is wrecking havoc with people’s lives because of her unethical and negligent practices,not the least the wife’s and those children’s lives. Wife goes to Family COurt believing this is the RIGHT WAY to get her children back without subjecting them to a public brawl and ensuing trauma. Solicitor has not even introduced her to her barrister before they enter courtroom , barrister does not even know the name of person he is looking for $8000 to represent. LIar husband, ex cop knows way in court , wife does not know what to expect from any of these players. Husband’s barrister presents a tirade of lies about wife, NOBODY QUESTIONS ANY OF IT!! Judge barely glimpses at anyone , GIVES CHILDREN TO HUSBAND WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT. Tells wife she can travel to visit children once a week over one thousand miles distance over rough roads,to spend less thaan a day with children. WIfe almost killed on first ludicrous journey, suffers serious leg injury, in wheel chair, sees children once in six months , speaks to them on phone for less than five minutes Tuesdays and Thursdays , on speaker phone with coached answers and taunts in background.Thes echildren are three years old and five. The people LOOKING AFTER them HATE children …remember they are all childless by choice and love money especially everyone else’s.The mother’s life is presently house bound because of injuries no car and social security. Children cry on phone to her every time. Husband has told lies all over NSW about wife with impunity, steals children and gets rewarded for it by the Family COurt of Australia.Others who have done this in the news get jail. Woman who abandons baby gets all kinds of help offers from people with real understanding of children’s need for mother . WHy are these children being abused by the system designed to protect them? Why / how can a judge like the one in this case be allowed to sit in the FAmily Court when he clearly has no idea about family.These children are being irreparably damaged and the only thing the wife’s lawyer does is consume whatever few dollars she may salvage from this for the future. At the start wife had children and was getting some money, she hires a solicitor, lose children and $50000 paying for the punishment. IS it supposed to work like this?IS there a FAmily Lawyer in this country who actually cares about their work and not their bank balance and ego? Is there anyone in the profession who can tell me that this is an acceptable standard of JUSTICE. I used to believe that Australia was a place of THE FAIR GO . EVen on THE CASTLE the fairy tale had a decent QC who salvaged the undersdogs case and won through.I’d love to hear some responses to this comment.I wait with baited breath.