Chief Justice shown in green. All Chief Justices shown were initial Liberal appointments to the court. The ALP promoted Mason and Brennan from Justice to Chief Justice. Modify Theophanous to give less free speech. The issues involved are far more complicated than shown in this table.
Some cases involve more questions that the one mentioned.
Also, different Judges often come to the same conclusion for differing reasons. Nothing on this page should be taken as legal advice. A publication that attracts the freedom implied in the Commonwealth Constitution can also be described as a publication on an occasion of qualified privilege. Whether a federal election is about to be called is not a relevant consideration. This was the position of Mason, Toohey and Gaudron.