Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd v Manock

Defamation – Defences – Fair comment – Promotion of a future edition of a television programme alleged to be defamatory – Defendant pleaded fair comment on a matter of public interest – Whether the allegedly defamatory statements constituted fact or comment – Distinction between fact and comment – Whether the facts on which the comments were alleged to be based were sufficiently identified – Construction of the rule from Pervan v North Queensland Newspaper Co Ltd (1993) 178 CLR 309 – Relevance of imputations conveyed by the promotion – Whether the alleged comments were fair – Whether reasonableness is a requirement of fairness.

Defamation – Pleading and practice – Whether defence of fair comment should have been struck out – Whether defendant should be given an opportunity to re-plead defence of fair comment.

Words and phrases – "comment", "fact", "fair", "imputation", "substratum of fact", "sufficiently indicated".