Murdoch U went to the WA Supreme Court seeking an injunction against National Tertiary Education official Gabe Gooding and the union, “to restrain the defendants from publishing, on a website and in hard copy, an article containing statements of mixed fact and commentary critical of the university.”

On Friday Chief Justice Quinlan dismissed the application. “In the circumstances, having regard to: (a) what I find to be a relatively weak case (including the claim that the article would be likely to cause the university financial damage); and (b) the adverse effect that an injunction would have on freedom of expression, in my view, the balance of convenience does not favour an injunction being made in this case.” The decision is here.

But this is not the end. Murdoch U’s case against Ms Gooding and the union over statements about the university will still go to trial.

Ms Gooding declined to comment. Last night Murdoch U stated; “we reserve our right to defend our good reputation by taking legal action where necessary to enforce the withdrawal and to prevent further publication of false and misleading information by third parties. It is important to note the Court found Murdoch has an arguable case that the NTEU’s article as a whole conveys a meaning that could be characterised as misleading. The Court found there is some basis for maintaining that the NTEU’s statements are, strictly speaking, false.