NEWS RELEASE
October 18 2002
Dirty
deeds and legal litany – a case for defamation law reform
Australia’s
defamation laws are convoluted, outmoded and in desperate need of an
overhaul. That’s the opinion of two UniSA lecturers who will be
presenting the free public seminar,
Corporate Care and the Written Word, at City West campus on Monday,
October 21.
Examining
how defamation can affect organisations, Dr Bob O’Brien, author of Young
Blood: the story of the family murders, and Associate Professor of Law
and Criminology, Rick Sarre, argue that there should be a fairer way of
enforcing the law, which they say currently only protects those with the
money to fight drawn-out legal battles.
Different
laws in different states, sky-rocketing compensation claims, and the new
risks associated with defamation via email are all factors that Dr
O’Brien and Professor Sarre say make defamation law an unnecessary
minefield for business.
A
former police officer who was involved in the investigation of the
so-called “family murders” and the arrest of notorious murderer Bevan
Von Einem, Dr O’Brien says he was faced with 97 different legal issues
when he presented the draft of his controversial book to his publishers.
“The
fact that there are different defamation laws in each State and Territory
makes the process of deciding what can and can’t be said publicly
unnecessarily complicated,” he says.
Professor
Sarre says that in today’s email society, everyone needs to be aware of
the risk of any disparaging remarks in electronic form falling into the
wrong hands.
“If
you say something that could be defamatory in an email and that email gets
into the hands of the wrong person – even if it’s got
‘confidential’ written all over it – you could be find yourself in
the civil courts,” he says.
Professor
Sarre is calling for a reassessment not only of the laws of defamation,
but also of the financial damages assessed for those found liable.
“I
think we need to do away with the monetary idea of compensation for
defamation. There are better and more immediate ways for people to amend
their mistakes," he says.
“Some
people believe that the potential for financial awards is the best
deterrent against defamation. I refute that. Immediate shame and
correction would be an equally workable deterrent, and in cases of
deliberate untruths for improper purposes, the law of criminal defamation
(with fines) could be made more available by legislation.
“The
fact that the maximum amount allowed to be awarded to a victim of crime in
South Australia is $50,000, while rugby player Andrew Ettingshausen was
awarded $350,000 (reduced to $100,000 on appeal) because a magazine
published blurred photos of him in the shower is manifestly bad public
policy,” he says.
Corporate
Care and the Written Word is part of UniSA’s Working Links
seminar series, which aims to provide an insight into research being
untaken by the Division of Business and Enterprise.
When:
Monday, October 21, 5.30pm – 7.15 pm
Where:
The Atrium, Ground Floor, Yungondi Building, City West Campus UniSA.
Admission is free, but please
register beforehand by emailing mark.hentschke@unisa.edu.au
Media
contacts: Associate Professor Rick Sarre on (08) 8302 0889, a/h 8431 4879
email rick.sarre@unisa.edu.au
Dr Bob O’Brien on (08) 8362 9946
Charlotte Knottenbelt,
Media officer, UniSA on (08) 8302 0578 or 0439 807 004 email:
charlotte.knottenbelt@unisa.edu.au
