Mr. Justice Bernard Barton:

I also welcome Senator McDowell's contribution and that of Senator Ward on the principle of retaining jury trials. In England, the judges have become the subject of a huge amount of abuse. I know this from my colleagues. I do not think I am betraying any confidences but judges involved in defamation cases in England since abolition of jury trials, and one in particular, have been subject of huge online abuse by someone who will have a view about the case or was a witness in the case or even a party; there is no identification. This is exactly what has happened in the UK.

Some organs of the print media, and one organ in particular, claim they cannot get a fair trial from a judge because the judges mostly come from Oxford or Cambridge and they have a view about this particular organ. That cannot be allowed. It is wholly to be avoided. We avoid this kind of problem by having a jury trial sitting.