Journalism or ‘malicious gossip’? Herald Sun story on MP’s sex life will test the definition of news

1 month ago 5

A newspaper story implying that a senior Victorian politician first had sex with his future wife when she was underage is looming as a legal test case of what constitutes news under Australia’s revamped privacy regime.

The Herald Sun argued an exemption for journalists shielded it from respecting the privacy of deputy Liberal leader Sam Groth’s wife, Brittany, when questioning the legality of how their relationship began.

However, to make use of the previously untested defence that applies to the media, lawyers for the Herald Sun will have to convince a Federal Court judge that what they wrote about the Groths is “journalistic material” as defined by the Privacy Act.

The Groths’ lawyers have previously argued the stories were nothing more than “malicious gossip” that do not amount to journalism.

The newspaper has defended its reporting of the relationship, saying it was justified under the public interest defence and maintaining the allegations could have been weaponised against the Liberal Party at next year’s state election.

The Groths are suing the Herald Sun over three articles published in July. The articles, written by journalist Stephen Drill, alleged they may have begun a sexual relationship when Brittany was 16 or 17 and under Groth’s care or supervision as a tennis coach.

The couple’s lawyers have alleged the articles were both defamatory to the Liberal deputy leader and constituted a serious breach of privacy for Brittany.

In a defence filed to the Federal Court, the Herald Sun said that in 2011 Sam, a former professional tennis player, was aged 23 or 24 when he met Brittany – then a “16- or 17-year-old schoolgirl” and aspiring junior player.

Sam was a tennis coach at the club Brittany trained at, and their relationship had an “imbalance of power, authority, age and maturity”, according to the documents.

The tabloid claimed that between late 2024 and mid-2025, there was concern within sections of the Victorian Liberal Party as to the circumstances in which Sam and Brittany had commenced their
romantic relationship and whether Sam may have committed a criminal offence.

It also claimed that sections of the Liberal Party were concerned whether such matters might be weaponised against the party and whether Sam’s position as deputy leader represented a risk or liability to its prospects of winning next year’s state election.

Journalists at the newspaper first received information from a “a confidential source who works
in Victorian state politics” in late 2024 that people were talking about the possibility that Brittany might have been underage when their relationship began.

Deputy editor Chris Tinkler on December 17 obtained a Facebook photo from an unnamed source depicting Sam and Brittany in May 2012 attending an event in formal attire as a couple, which the newspaper alleges was taken when she was 17 and attending high school.

In June this year, another confidential source alerted Tinkler to the existence of a previous story in the Herald Sun in which the Groths detailed how they had met at the tennis club.

The newspaper alleges confidential sources from the Liberal Party, including at least one MP, were aware Sam might have started his relationship with Brittany when she was underage, and were concerned it could impact their prospects at the next state election.

The defence said Tinkler had also spoken to a Labor Party source who said that two MPs were aware that Brittany might have been underage when her romantic relationship with Sam began, and that in that source’s view, “what he has done is really not appropriate”.

“Tinkler reasonably considered on the basis of this information that the concerns about Sam and Brittany’s relationship were being discussed within the Victorian Labor Party and would or might be weaponised by the Labor Party against the Liberal Party,” the newspaper’s defence read.

The Herald Sun has maintained its stories are exempt from revamped privacy laws – which allow Australians who suffer a serious invasion of privacy to claim up to $478,000 in damages – due to a broad exemption for journalists.

Under the legislation, professional journalists who are bound by professional standards or a code of conduct are exempt from the laws if the material they produce has “the character of news, current affairs or a documentary”.

The Herald Sun maintains its stories and journalists fit this description. However, the Groths’ lawyers have previously labelled the articles “malicious gossip” that did not amount to journalism.

The case is scheduled to face its first case management hearing in the Federal Court on October 30.

Herald Sun editor Sam Weir has previously defended the stories, saying: “We stand by our reporting on a matter of public interest, covering important issues which could have a major impact on Victorian politics in the lead-up to an election.”