News Corp had no first-hand source suggesting Sam Groth's wife underage at start of relationship, MP's lawyer tells court

"A News Corp journalist had not one piece of information to suggest the deputy Victorian Liberal leader, Sam Groth, began a relationship with his wife when she was underage, the MP's lawyers have told a court. In what a federal court judge described as a test case for Australia's new privacy laws, Groth and his wife, Brittany, are suing the Herald and Weekly Times (HWT), reporter Stephen Drill and the Herald Sun's editor, Sam Weir, over a series of articles published in July."

"HWT is defending the reporting on public interest grounds, arguing the allegations could constitute a criminal offence and therefore be weaponised by Groth's political opponents ahead of the 2026 Victorian state election. The tabloid is also arguing it is exempt from new privacy laws which allow for damages of up to $478,000 due to the exemption provided for journalists. But during a case management hearing in Melbourne on Thursday, the Groths' barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, argued the exemption did not apply."

"The defence has two elements. First you have to be a journalist or the employer of a journalist, and then it also has to be journalistic material, Chrysanthou told the court. She said the laws, which were part of a pre-election rush of bills late last year, were written in such as way as clearly parliament thought that not all publications that purport to be news are news."

Sam Groth and his wife, Brittany, have sued the Herald and Weekly Times, reporter Stephen Drill and the Herald Sun editor over July articles alleging their relationship began when she was 16 or 17 and he was a coach in his early twenties. Brittany Groth alleges a serious invasion of privacy and Sam Groth alleges defamation. HWT argues public interest and potential criminality, and seeks exemption under new privacy laws for journalists. The Groths' barrister contends the journalist exemption does not apply and that assessment requires examining all information the journalist had when deciding to publish.

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