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'The Stuff of Which Political Debate Is Made': Roberts V Bass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2025

Helen Chisholm
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Abstract

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Type
Case Note
Information
Federal Law Review , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2003 , pp. 225 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 The Australian National University

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Footnotes

The views expressed in the article are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth. Thanks are due to Graeme Hill and Jenny Burnett for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.

1

Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 164–5, [11] (Gleeson CJ).

References

2 (1997) 189 CLR 520 '(Lange)'.

3 (2003) 194 ALR 161.

4 Toogood v Spyring (1834) 1 CM & R 181; Adam v Ward [1917] AC 309.

5 (1994) 182 CLR 104 '(Theophanous)'.

6 (1994) 182 CLR 211 '(Stephens)'.

7 Theophanous (1994) 182 CLR 104, 185–6 (Deane J); Stephens (1994) 182 CLR 211, 257 (Deane J).

8 Theophanous (1994) 182 CLR 104, 137–41 (Mason CJ, Toohey and Gaudron JJ); Stephens (1994) 182 CLR 211, 234 (Mason CJ, Toohey and Gaudron JJ).

9 Stephens (1994) 182 CLR 211, 255–6 (Brennan J), 261–7 (McHugh J).

10 Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 560.

11 Ibid 566-75.

12 Ibid 570-1.

13 Ibid 572-4.

14 Ibid 572.

15 Ibid 574.

16 Ibid.

17 Braddock v Bevins [1948] 1 KB 580.

18 Lang v Willis (1934) 52 CLR 637.

19 As to the possible relevance of the distinction between State and federal elections, see Part 5 below

20 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 162, [2] (Gleeson CJ).

21 Ibid 195, [126] (Kirby J).

22 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35.

23 Roberts & Case v Bass (2000) 78 SASR 302.

24 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [185], [214], [222], [228].

25 The appellants also relied upon two other defences (fair comment and a 'Polly Peck'defence), which were unsuccessful and which were not at issue before the High Court.

26 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [24].

27 Ibid [242].

28 For the purpose of this discussion, questions as to whom the onus of proving malice falls upon are not considered.

29 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [246].

30 Ibid [260].

31 Ibid [261].

32 Ibid [271].

33 See Roberts & Case v Bass (2000) 78 SASR 302, [46] (Williams J).

34 Justice Hayne doubted that a publication to such a wide audience could properly be regarded as being an occasion of traditional qualified privilege: Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 218-19, [224] (Hayne J).

35 See below, Part 2(C).

36 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 203, [161] (Kirby J). See also Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 218, [222] (Hayne J); Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 573.

37 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [250].

38 (1997) 189 CLR 520, 574.

39 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [252]-[253].

40 Ibid [253].

41 Ibid [254].

42 Ibid [257].

43 Roberts & Case v Bass (2000) 78 SASR 302, [42] (Williams J).

44 Ibid [42]-[43] (Williams J).

45 Ibid [39] (Williams J).

46 Ibid [94]-[96] (Martin J).

47 Ibid [102] (Martin J).

48 Ibid [2] (Prior J).

49 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 177, [65] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

50 Ibid 178, [70] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

51 Ibid 199, [143] (Kirby J).

52 Ibid 199, 203, [144], [160] (Kirby J).

53 Ibid 162, [2] (Gleeson CJ).

54 Ibid [4].

55 Ibid 216, [213] (Hayne J).

56 Ibid 221, [224] (Hayne J).

57 Ibid 219, [225].

58 (2001) 208 CLR 199.

59 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 236-7, [285] (Callinan J).

60 Ibid 181, [78] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

61 Ibid 180, 181-2, [76], [79] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

62 Ibid 183, [83] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

63 Ibid 183-4, [87] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

64 Ibid 179, [74] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

65 Ibid 209, [185] (Kirby J).

66 Ibid 211-12, [193] (Kirby J).

67 Ibid 164-5, [13] (Gleeson CJ).

68 Ibid.

69 Ibid 166, [15].

70 Ibid 172, [45] (Gleeson CJ).

71 Ibid 220, [230]-[231] (Hayne J).

72 Ibid 238, [291] (Callinan J).

73 Ibid 241, [303] (Callinan J).

74 Ibid 237, [287] (Callinan J).

75 Ibid 162, [2] (Gleeson CJ).

76 Ibid 216, [213] (Hayne J).

77 Ibid 237, [286] (Callinan J).

78 Ibid 216, [213] (Hayne J).

79 Ibid 237, [286] (Callinan J).

80 Ibid 177, 178, [65], [71] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ), 199, [143]–[144] (Kirby J).

81 Ibid 177, 178 [65], [71] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

82 Ibid , 196, 199 [130], [143] (Kirby J).

83 Ibid 202, [158] (Kirby J).

84 Ibid 236-7, [285], [286] (Callinan J).

85 Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 570-1.

86 Ibid 572-4.

87 Ibid 574.

88 Ibid 566.

89 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 163, [4] (Gleeson CJ).

90 Ibid.

91 Ibid 216, [213] (Hayne J).

92 Ibid 236-7, [285] (Callinan J).

93 See above Part I.

94 See Adrienne Stone, 'Freedom of Political Communication, the Constitution and the Common Law' (1998) 26 Federal Law Review 219.

95 See Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 566. See, for a discussion of this process of 'constitutionalising' the common law, Graeme Hill and Adrienne Stone, 'The Constitutionalisation of the Common Law' (forthcoming, copy on file with author).

96 Bass v Roberts & Case [2000] SADC 35, [263], [264].

97 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 178, [69] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

98 Ibid 212, [195] (Kirby J).

99 Ibid 164-5, [11] (Gleeson CJ), 304-5 [68] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ), [184] 327(Kirby J), 335 [230] (Hayne J), 346-7 [291] (Callinan J).

100 Ibid 164-5, [11] (Gleeson CJ).

101 Ibid 171, [39] (Gleeson CJ).

102 Ibid 200, [171] (Kirby J).

103 Ibid 240, [301] (Callinan J).

104 Ibid 190-1, [110] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

105 Ibid 219, [227] (Hayne J).

106 See, eg, ibid 170, [35] (Gleeson CJ).

107 Ibid 187, [100], [101] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

108 Ibid 210, [188] (Kirby J).

109 Ibid 241-2, [305] (Callinan J).

110 Ibid 206, [172] (Kirby J).

111 Ibid 190-1, [110] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

112 Ibid 219, [227] (Hayne J).

113 See above, n 109 and accompanying text.

114 The Court in Lange confirmed that the implied freedom arose from specific sections of the Constitution establishing a system of government where representatives are chosen directly by the people at periodic elections, not from a general concept of representative government: Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 557-9.

115 Lange (1997) 189 CLR 520, 571.

116 (1997) 189 CLR 579.

117 Ibid 596 (Brennan CJ), 626 (McHugh J). See, in this regard, Adrienne Stone, 'Rights,Personal Rights and Freedoms: The Nature of the Freedom of Political Communication' (2001) 25 Melbourne University Law Review 374, 381.

118 Roberts v Bass (2003) 194 ALR 161, 205-6, [170] (Kirby J). See also Roberts v Bass (2002) 194 ALR 161, 202-3, [159] (Kirby J).

119 Ibid 176, [64], 179, [73] (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

120 Ibid 236-7, [285] (Callinan J).