The defamation battle between Luke Sayers and his estranged wife will not be hidden from the public, with the former PwC CEO failing in his bid have it moved to the Family Court, where media coverage is banned.
The Victorian Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Cate Sayers, saying the hearings in the high-profile defamation case should be heard in open court, allowing her to be publicly vindicated if she wins.
Cate Sayers is suing her estranged husband for defamation, alleging he made a string of false statements about her in a sworn statutory declaration.
They allegedly include that she posted a lewd photo of him to social media, that she had bipolar disorder, and that she was repeatedly raped as a school child by her teacher.
Justice Andrew Watson this morning rejected Luke Sayers’ bid to have the matter moved to the Family Court of Australia.
“An important function of the tort of defamation is the capacity it provides to a successful plaintiff to vindicate their reputation,” Justice Watson wrote.
It also allowed vindication to successful defendants.
“The Family Court has strict provisions restricting publication regarding the course of proceedings in that court,” Justice Watson wrote.
“I accept Cate’s submission that those provisions sit at odds with the vindication function that a defamation trial would ordinarily serve.”
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Former PwC Australia boss Luke Sayers has been beset by rolling scandals. Source: The Klaxon; Image top: Luke Sayers and Cate Sayers in 2023. Picture: James Ross/AAP
In January last year a lewd photograph of Luke Sayers was posted to his social media account, who departed as President of the AFL’s Carlton Football Club over the affair.
The photo tagged a female executive of BUPA, a major Carlton sponsor.
The AFL launched an investigation, Luke Sayers provided it a statutory declaration, and it dropped the investigation, declaring he was not responsible for posting the image.
Today’s finding also puts the AFL — and its “investigation” — in the spotlight.
The hearings are slated to begin in November.
“Cate Sayers alleges Luke Sayers repeatedly lied in a sworn AFL statement, including that she was raped as a schoolchild by her teacher”
Luke Sayers embroiled in a “penis photo scandal”. Source: The Klaxon
In court documents filed in January, Cate Sayers’ lawyers state the AFL “investigation”, was “not conducted adequately or honestly”.
“The AFL did not carry out an adequate, independent or impartial investigation as it worked closely with Carlton and Luke directly to provide an outcome that publicly exonerated Luke from any wrongdoing,” her lawyers state.
The AFL has previously said it stands by its investigation and that it cannot comment further as the matter is before the courts.
It is the latest in a long string of controversies for Luke Sayers.
The Klaxon reports on the Sayers amid the Frydenberg scandal. Source: The Klaxon
He was PwC Australia CEO for all relevant periods of the tax leaks affair, which caused international shockwaves.
In 2022 Cate Sayers appeared in advertisements spruiking for then Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, as the founder of charity Inclusion Foundation, of which Luke Sayers was chair.
Cate Sayers appeared in illegal political advertisements for Josh Frydenberg at the 2022 federal election. Source: Supplied
It is illegal for charities to endorse politicians or political parties.
Neither Luke Sayers, Cate Sayers, or Frydenberg has ever admitted any wrongdoing.
As previously revealed, Cate Sayers departed Inclusion Foundation and the charity is in danger of collapse.
In 2023 Inclusion Foundation had more than a dozen staff earning average salaries of over $120,000.
As recently revealed by The Klaxon, it has now told the charities regulator it has zero employees and has shrunk so much it doesn’t need to file its accounts.
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Anthony Klan
Editor, The Klaxon
