Joe Hockey and Fairfax in court for defamation suit
TREASUER Joe Hockey has declined to comment outside a defamation hearing against Fairfax Media at the Federal Court in Sydney.
Mr Hockey is claiming a series of newspaper articles damaged his reputation last year, including one in May that had the headline 'Treasurer for sale'.
At the time, Mr Hockey's office released a statement saying: "Any suggestion that the Treasurer is for sale is offensive and repugnant."
The Treasurer is taking legal action against the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and their online services.
The articles in the Sydney Morning Herald reported a Liberal Party fundraising body, called the North Sydney Forum (NSF), was not fully disclosing its activities to the electoral funding authorities.
Mr Hockey's lawyer, Bruce McClintock SC, told the court his client had "a spotless reputation for integrity and no-one has ever suggested that he has been for sale before".
