Joe Hockey has said he was standing up to “bullies” by taking legal action against Fairfax Media over its “Treasurer for sale” article.
Fairfax has been ordered to pay 15% of the treasurer’s legal fees as well as $200,000 in compensation after Hockey won a defamation case against it in June.
It is estimated Hockey and Fairfax each spent $1m fighting the case, meaning Fairfax is liable for at least $1.35m in costs and the payout.
Hockey said on Thursday that he had no regrets, despite having to pay the lion’s share of his costs. His office has confirmed to Guardian Australia that the case was brought privately and Hockey was paying his legal fees.
“Someone has to stand up to the bullies and I chose to do that,” he said. “Even though I paid a price, if I was a shareholder of Fairfax Media writing out a cheque for $1.5m and carrying the burden of an editor-in-chief that has acted maliciously against the treasurer of Australia, I wouldn’t consider that a win at all.”
As part of the legal proceedings, the federal court found that the Sydney Morning Herald’s editor-in-chief, Darren Goodsir, had been motivated by “animus” towards Hockey, and had acted with malicious intent.
“Someone has to stand up for what is right and I will do it. I will not be bullied by anyone,” Hockey said. “Only Fairfax Media could consider a finding of malice by the federal court as a win and writing out a cheque of $1.5m of shareholders’ money as a win. It’s not a win in my book.”
The case was only a partial win for Hockey, after the court found the article headlined “Treasurer for sale” was not defamatory. But tweets and newsstand posters publicising it were found to be defamatory.
The articles outlined how the fundraising body North Sydney Forum offered access to Hockey via social events in exchange for membership fees of up to $22,000. They said the forum was a donor to the Liberal party.
Hockey has strenuously denied claims of corrupt conduct.
Fairfax has not ruled out appealing against the court’s decision, saying it is giving “full consideration” to the 120-page judgment.
