Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today Fairfax newspapers ran more stories featuring me, which are untrue and defamatory. Fairfax also reported that I had threatened legal action but had failed to commence that action. This no doubt was designed to question my intention to do so. I can assure Fairfax—and they know this—that I have made demand and I intend to go through with it.

Fairfax also mischievously reported today on court action taken yesterday by Ms Helen Liu but failed to say what it was about. I can inform the House that the action is seeking to force Fairfax to hand over for independent forensic testing documents it claims belong to her and on which it has published a number of highly defamatory stories. Fairfax refuses to hand over the documents. The question now becomes: what is it they have to fear from this independent forensic examination?

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