Australia has been described as '
the defamation capital of the world' due to the ease by
which defamation can be established – without requirements
such as 'actual malice' when it comes to public figures,
and the limited defences available to defamation.
John Barilaro
wins defamation case
That description has been reinforced by the Federal Court of
Australia's recent award to former deputy New South Wales
premier John Barilaro's of $715,000 over
videos produced by political satirists the Friendlyjordies and
published to their YouTube channel.
The videos
The videos, published in 2020, asserted that Mr Barilaro was a
corrupt politician, that he corruptly granted $3.5 million to a
beef company, that he corruptly voted against a Royal Commission
into water theft, that he blackmailed councillors for financial
benefit and committed
the offence of perjury. They also made racial slurs against the
politician, including calling him a "wog".
