Page:Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment).pdf/45

 "Edwards lies" should be approached with caution, including in the light of the warning in Briginshaw (reflected in's 140 EA) that reasonable satisfaction should not be produced by, among other things, indirect inferences.

FOBSERVATIONS AS TO THE CENTRAL WITNESSES

146 This section sets out my general assessment of the creditworthiness of the evidence given by a dozen (of a total of 33) witnesses who gave oral evidence. I will then turn to make specific factual findings. In the course of doing so, I will address the evidence of these and other witnesses in greater specificity where relevant.

147 In another defamation case (Russell v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 3) [2023] FCA 1223), I said (at [438]) that many experienced judges have expressed the caution that any criticisms of a witness, which go beyond the legitimate necessities of the occasion, should be avoided. Unnecessary credit findings should be eschewed. Part of this reticence reflects a body of research casting doubt on the ability of judges to make accurate credibility findings based on demeanour: see Fox v Percy [2003] HCA 22; (2003) 214 CLR 118 (at 129 [31] per Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Kirby JJ).

148 But like Russell, this is a case where several of the deficiencies were both patent and telling. Moreover, this is a case where credit, given the way it impacts upon the resolution of the determinative issues in the case, requires close and especially nuanced examination.

F.1Mr Lehrmann

IGeneral Remarks

149 I will deal below in Section G.4 with the account given by Mr Lehrmann as to why he went back to the Ministerial Suite on the fateful night. I can make general observations as to his creditworthiness by reference to other aspects of his evidence.

150 Network Ten described Mr Lehrmann as "a fundamentally dishonest man, prepared to say or do anything he perceived to advance his interests" (T2215.5). Senior counsel for Ms Wilkinson described him as "an active and deliberate liar" and wondered aloud whether "Mr Lehrmann is just a compulsive liar" (T2316.43).

151 Hyperbolic submissions made about the lack of credit of a party witness are not uncommon. In a recent speech ("Seven Random Points About Judging", National Judicial Orientation Program, 17 March 2024), Justice Beech-Jones made a similar point to that made in my Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369