23 October: Seminar with Dr Matthew Collins QC

MLS Alumni & CMCL Breakfast Seminar

Frankenstein’s Monster: The State of Australian Defamation Law, 2018

Defamation laws are supposed to balance two fundamental human rights: the right to freedom of expression and the right to reputation. In this alumni breakfast seminar, Dr Matt Collins QC will share his views about the state of Australian defamation law in 2018. He posits that the laws are failing, in that they are able to protect neither the right to reputation when plaintiffs are the subject of baseless attacks, nor the right to freedom of expression when important matters of public interest are exposed.

Biographical details

Dr Matt Collins QC is one of Australia’s best known barristers. He has acted in many of the most important freedom of speech and defamation cases of the past generation for both plaintiffs and defendants. He is the author of all three editions of The Law of Defamation and the Internet (Oxford University Press, 2001, 2005, 2010) and of Collins on Defamation (OUP, 2014). He is a Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School and the current President of the Victorian Bar.

This breakfast seminar includes a Q+A with Dr Collins QC following his presentation and networking opportunities with fellow alumni. We hope that you are able to join us for this event.