Gatto's defamation case against ABC dismissed by Victoria Supreme Court

In a Victoria Supreme Court ruling that quietly reaffirmed one of journalism's oldest protections, Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto lost his defamation case against the ABC over a 2019 article linking him to threats and gangland murders. Justice Andrew Keogh found the broadcaster had done nothing more than faithfully report allegations as they arose in court proceedings — a distinction the law has long held sacred. The case reminds us that the space between 'it was alleged' and 'it happened' is not merely grammatical, but a boundary upon which press freedom rests.