Joe Hockey v Fairfax: why politicians shouldn’t make defamation claims

Joe Hockey must have bumped his head. We can't think of any other reason why, as a Federal politician, he'd want to go around suing the media for defamation. The Federal Treasurer has sued Fairfax over articles suggesting that he accepted payments in return for his attention or support. The headline was 'treasurer for sale'.

It seems outrageous that politicians, those perennial mudslingers, could occupy the judicial system when they cop a nasty news headline, especially when most of the trashy crap you read in papers comes directly from their mouths. Logically, you'd think that they should check their personal rights at the door when they sign up for the job.

Well logic doesn't write the law, and politicians can bring claims for defamation. But there are some good reasons that you don't see more of them.