George Pell and Andrew Laming weren’t at the Writers Festival

7 Responses to George Pell and Andrew Laming weren’t at the Writers Festival

1. C.L. says:

   12 September, 2022 at 9:50 pm

   ABC investigative journalist Louise Milligan told a writers festival on Sunday that reporters and media outlets must correct any mistakes they make “immediately” – and if they fail to do so they “should hang their heads in shame”.

   The high profile Four Corners’ reporter, who has been involved in multiple defamation proceedings in the past year, told the Melbourne Writers Festival on Sunday it can be “exhausting and traumatic”, but if errors are made by reporters they must be quickly fixed.

   “If we make mistakes we must correct it immediately and people who don’t should hang their heads in shame,” she told the audience of about 200 people.

   Milligan’s comments at the event raised eyebrows, given her own failure to correct the record after making defamatory and untrue statements about former federal MP Andrew Laming in March last year.

   Milligan accused Dr Laming of “upskirting” a woman, despite the fact that the politician had already been questioned by Queensland Police about the incident, and cleared of any wrongdoing.

   Dr Laming initially asked Milligan to delete the tweet and apologise. She eventually deleted the post but refused to apologise, which prompted the Coalition MP to launch legal action.

   The ABC funded Milligan’s legal costs in the matter, with the taxpayer-funded broadcaster covering the $200,000 bill, which including a $79,000 payout to Dr Laming.

   “She preferred to use taxpayers’ money for a Federal Court settlement than have any risk of loss of face that comes with an apology,” Dr Laming told The Australian on Sunday.

   Before an audience of about 200 people at the festival, Milligan criticised the defamation laws in Australia, saying: “It’s for people with means, or people with blind trusts or whatever, who can afford to do it.”

   She spoke of the defamation proceedings she was involved in last year with former Attorney-General Christian Porter, who launched legal action in the Federal Court against the public broadcaster and herself.

   “It’s absolutely exhausting and traumatic and I was working every day from first thing in the morning ‘til midnight, just preparing,” she said.

   “The system is designed to frighten and disempower journalists, and you have to be so tough.” Mr Porter discontinued the case in May last year and it was later revealed the ABC agreed to pay $100,000 in mediation costs relating to the legal action.

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   Sophie Elsworth in The Ausralian
2. Entropy says:

   12 September, 2022 at 10:04 pm

   The lack of self awareness is ABC staff collective level.
3. C.L. says:

   12 September, 2022 at 10:17 pm

   She considers herself royalty.
   That $200,000 of our money isn’t “whatever.”

   But who can blame her? Has the Treasury paid a $200,000 bill for you?
4. Buccaneer says:

   12 September, 2022 at 10:39 pm

   The system is designed to frighten and disempower journalists, and you have to be so tough.

   Imagine how hard it might feel for the person who thinks you defamed them you @#$3. Particularly if they then did jail time or had additional financial burden thanks to your ‘investigative’ journalism.
5. NoFixedAddress says:

   12 September, 2022 at 10:45 pm

   Is she another ABC millionaire yet?
6. Cassie of Sydney says:

   13 September, 2022 at 6:50 am

   Louise Milligan is an iniquitous individual.
7. Franx says:

   13 September, 2022 at 4:03 pm

   In Milligan’s case, it’s not apologies that are called-for but sanctions when the errors such as her own are no mere mistakes.