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 1072 Any other instances of conduct relevant to his true reputation relied upon by the respondents (such as behaving like a blackguard to his girlfriend and leaving Ms Higgins as he did) are also unworthy, but pale by comparison.

1073 As to the final aspect of the Relevant Misconduct, being the provision of information protected by the Hearne v Street undertaking to a third party, it is necessary to deal with an aspect of the submissions of Network Ten that is said to bring that aspect of the conduct into a different, and serious category. Dr Collins submits a raft of information was provided to the Spotlight programme for publication with the intention of intimidating proposed witnesses in this proceeding. Although Mr Lehrmann's provision of some information to the Spotlight programme was seriously wrong, I am far from convinced it was done for the purpose of intimidating witnesses. Ms Higgins had been held up by numerous public figures as a woman of courage; she had been hailed widely for her criticism of what she asserted was an unjust legal system; and, with the assistance of her supporters, had shaped the public relations narrative. It is likely that Mr Lehrmann's motivation to "light some fires" (Ex R43) was to tell his (factually wrong even on the counterfactual) side of the story and try to expose what he thought had gone wrong in the criminal justice system. It was his attempt to counter a narrative hostile to him and that was already extant. Part of his conduct in pursuit of this end reflects very poorly upon him, but the respondents' characterisation is inaccurate.

1074 The consequence of all this is that the actual damage proven to be occasioned to Mr Lehrmann's reputation by the broadcast could only be slight in respect of the defamatory publications unsuccessfully defended, because he is only entitled to be compensated for the reputation he deserves.

IVExtent of Publication

1075 This is also a matter of some significance in this assessment.

1076 As would be evident as to my findings as to identification (see Section D.4 above), this is a case where the rumours causing relevant persons to identify Mr Lehrmann had commenced when the Maiden article was published, and the Project programme would likely have involved a further, albeit more graphic, publication to the relatively limited class of persons able to identify Mr Lehrmann reasonably. Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369