they primarly relied upon multiple Royal Commission expert reports prepared by doctors who are now deceased. All three judges took issue with the fact that the expert witnesses who authored the reports used in the Royal Commission and then later in Cannane's defamation trial were not available for cross examination. Additionally the expert witness who authored the reports did not state with clarity or even at all, the facts and assumptions on which their decisions were based. Furthermore they failed to elaborate upon the process of reasoning they used when writing said reports. The appeal additionally dismissed Jagot's ruling that Cannane's writings would fall under qualified privilege as a defence against defamation. Cannane was of the belief that he would not be able to obtain an accurate account of events from Mr John Herron and or Dr John Gill, however all three justices agreed that this didn't make it reasonable upon Cannane's and HarperCollins' behalf to completely disregard their account of what occurred. The Federal Court stated that Mr Cannane had made a deliberate choice not to obtain and include an account told from Dr Gill and Mr Herron’s view. Following the Federal Court ruling, Cannane and HarperCollins appealed to the High Court of Australia in an attempt to get the Federal Court's findings overturned. The case for appeal was heard by the High Court of Australia on 17th February 2023. The High Court denied Cannane and HarperCollins' application for an appeal of the Federal Court's findings. Therefore in the upcoming retrial Cannane and HarperCollins are unable to use qualified privilege and the Royal Commission reports to defend themselves against the claim of defamation against Dr Gill and Mr Herron. References ABC News (Australia) presenters ABC radio (Australia) journalists and presenters Walkley Award winners Living people Triple J announcers Place of birth missing (living people) 1970 births