ABC's Louise Milligan covered for $200k personal defamation bill by taxpayers, page-15

Most respectable businesses have Professional indemnity insurance
to cover the company and key staff against claims with an excess.

IMO the ABC's excess is $200K from above info. Of course the ABC
could have reduced that excess to zero, but like your house or auto
insurance this would bean a much higher corporate premium.

A friend who was a barrister at the time was a consultant to the Age
to whom the editor forwarded some news items for pre-publication
vetting but it was always the responsibility of the editor to accept or reject the
barrister's advice.

IMO, the ABC works in a similar manner.

There is always a fine line between the disclosure of news in the public interest
and defaming parties to that story, IMO.

Just read some of the MM reports on politicians in NSW & Victoria, for example.
IMO $200K is not a lot of money to cough up in relation to two major 4 corners
programs , either of which could have cost at least a half mil each to produce.

The average 30 second ad can cost that and more to produce nowadays.