Saint v John Fairfax Publications P/L [2002] NSWSC 312

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Saint v John Fairfax Publications P/L [2002] NSWSC 312 CURRENT JURISDICTION: Common Law Division Defamation List FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 21010/01 HEARING DATE(S) : 15/04/02 JUDGMENT DATE : 22 April 2002

PARTIES : Jillian Saint (Pl) John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited (Def) JUDGMENT OF : Kirby J

COUNSEL : P W Gray (Pl) T Blackburn (Def) SOLICITORS : Agostini Jarrett Pty Ltd (Pl) Richard Coleman (Def) CATCHWORDS : Defamation - Imputations - Whether different in substance - Test LEGISLATION CITED : Defamation Act 1974 Marsden v Amalgamated Television Services P/L (1998) 43 NSWLR 158 CASES CITED : Singleton v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (unreported, 20.2.80) Parker v Laws [2002] NSWSC 311 Hepburn v TCN Channel 9 P/L (1984) 1 NSWLR 386 DECISION : Ref para 15

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION defamation list

KIRBY J Monday 22 April 2002

21010/01 - JILLIAN SAINT v JOHN FAIRFAX PUBLICATIONS PTY LIMITED

JUDGMENT 1 KIRBY J: This is an application by John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited (the defendant) to strike out imputations in a Statement of Claim issued on behalf of Ms Jillian Saint (the plaintiff). The defendant asserts that the imputations are either incapable of arising or do not differ in substance.

The Publication 2 The action arises out of the publication by the defendant in the Sun Herald of 5 August 2001 of the following newspaper article: "TAX OFFICIALS REDUCED TO TEARS By Mathew Benns Almost the entire staff of an elite Australian Tax Office department has quit or gone on stress leave in the past two years. Conditions in the International Division on the Ninth floor of Centrepoint in the Sydney CBD are so bad that an independent investigator has been appointed. Senior tax officials have been reduced to tears at their desks and claim the department is 'a very unhappy ship indeed'. The department's health and safety representative has issued three improvement notices. In the latest notice he wrote: 'Over the last two years I have been requested to assist five distraught people from the Ninth floor of Centrepoint and in particular from the International Tax Division. 'Since first contacting the Deputy Commissioner another member of the ITD staff has gone on what I believe to be four weeks' stress-related leave.' The department is run by Assistant Commissioner Jillian Saint, who took sick leave last week as independent consultant Peter Grills conducted his inquiry. Ms Saint's executive assistant is on stress leave and was joined last week by her personal assistant. One member of staff said: 'I have seen senior tax officers with years of experience, men in their 50's, weeping at their desk after being publicly humiliated.' The staff member estimated that in two years 20 staff from the department had taken stress leave, extended leave, resigned or requested transfers. Not one of the 15 staff who were in the department two years ago is there today. 'Productivity has gone through the floor because of all the upset' the officer said. 'The International Tax Division is supposed to be the pinnacle of an auditor's career. Instead people cannot wait to leave.' Community and Public Sector Union spokesman Michael Tull said a process was in place to investigate the problem. 'I don't want to say anything further that could jeopardise that process.' The revelations come after bad publicity for the ATO including three negative reports by the Australian National Audit Office. An ATO spokesman said: 'We have no comment'." 3 The Statement of Claim relies upon six imputations. In the course of argument, the plaintiff has refined the expression of each imputation. The argument proceeded upon the basis of the reformulation, which was in these terms: "(a) The Plaintiff so insensitively carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to cause almost the entire staff of that Division to quit or go on stress leave in the previous two years. (b) The Plaintiff so incompetently carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to cause almost the entire staff of that Division to quit or go on stress leave in the previous two years. (c) The Plaintiff so insensitively carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to reduce senior Australian Taxation Office staff to tears by publicly humiliating them. (d) The Plaintiff so incompetently carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to reduce senior Australian Taxation Office staff to tears at their desks. (e) The Plaintiff so insensitively carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to cause productivity in that Division to fall drastically in the previous two years. (f) The Plaintiff so incompetently carried out her management role in running the International Division of the Australian Taxation Office as to cause productivity in that Division to fall drastically in the previous two years."