B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • State of Origin
  • NRL
  • WPP
  • Pinterest
  • Thinkerbell
  • B&T Women in Media
  • imaa
  • AFL
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • AI
  • Meta
  • Foxtel
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: $25 Million Dollars Later, Ben Robert-Smith’s Defamation Hearing Ends
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Media > $25 Million Dollars Later, Ben Robert-Smith’s Defamation Hearing Ends
Media

$25 Million Dollars Later, Ben Robert-Smith’s Defamation Hearing Ends

Mary Madigan
Published on: 28th July 2022 at 12:33 PM
Mary Madigan
Share
2 Min Read
SHARE

Hearings in Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against three major newspapers, The Age, The Canberra Times and The Sydney morning herald, have come to a close.

The case was heard for more than 100 days, and according to SMH, it cost more than $25 million.

Justice Anthony Besanko, the judge presiding over the highly publicised case, has reserved judgement. Instead, he will deliver a written ruling at a yet-to-be-announced date.

If you’ve been following the case, you’ll know it has seen plenty of allegations made, from war crimes to alleged fake pregnancy scandals.

There have been 41 witnesses called to the court. While lots of witnesses mean you begin to get a complete picture of the situation, so many accusations are thrown around it all becomes very complicated to follow and very expensive, thanks to the legal time involved.

It is now Justice Besanko’s role to wade through all the information and decide if a media publication’s truth defence stands up.

The SMH reported that in closing arguments, Robert-Smith’s Senior Council Arthur Moes argued that the newspaper reporting was based on “mere suspicion, surmise and guesswork”, not the truth.

Meanwhile, the media outlet’s representation of Nicholas Owens SC argued that Robert-Smith had a “motive to kill.”

Now we await a verdict. However, it is worth noting that what makes the case even more interesting is that rumours are that Kerry Stokes is footing the legal bill for Roberts-Smith.

Stokes, of course, is Seven’s chairman, and all of the papers Roberts-Smith is suing are owned by Nine.

This defamation case follows a string of defamation cases that have seen media companies lose out. From Rebel Wilson’s case against Baurer Media to Geoffrey Rush being awarded nearly $2.9 million in damages after winning his defamation case against News Corp’s The Daily Telegraph.

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Ben Robert Smith, Kerry Stokes, Nine, Seven
Share
By Mary Madigan
Follow:
Mary Madigan began her career working for ex-Vogue editor and chief Kirstie Clements and has since done everything from PR to tutoring at The University Of Notre Dame. Mary Madigan was a journalist at B&T until 2022.

Latest News

Melissa Fein Unpacks Impostor Syndrome & Modern Career Challenges
14/07/2025
TV Ratings (13/07/2025): All Eyes On Japan As Travel Guides Welcome New Addition
14/07/2025
Former News Corp Execs Dale Foenander & Matt Paine Launch Lamington Digital
14/07/2025
Woolies Appoints Interim CMO As Andrew Hicks Makes The Move To M&S In The UK
14/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?