Another reporter facing the prospect of jail because of legal demands from mining magnate Gina Rinehart says journalistic shield laws should be uniform across the country.
Ms Rinehart suffered a legal defeat on Tuesday, with a Supreme Court judge in Western Australia throwing out a bid by her lawyers to force Walkley Award-winning journalist Steve Pennells to hand over source material for articles about the ongoing Hancock family feud.
Justice Janine Pritchard's judgment ruled that a subpoena served on Mr Pennells and his employer, The West Australian newspaper, was "oppressive", and if granted would negate WA's 'Shield Laws'.
But senior Fairfax journalist Adele Ferguson, who wrote an unauthorised biography of Ms Rinehart, is still facing exactly the same threat from an identical subpoena served on her, demanding access to her source material for the book and other articles.
Ms Ferguson's case - fighting against the demand - remains at the directions stage, and after the judgment in the Pennells case, she said shield laws similar to those in WA should be nationally uniform.
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"I think it is a great win for journalism and press freedom," Ms Ferguson told AAP.
"The judgment was strong and made it clear that sources should be protected and journalistic ethics respected.
"But shield laws need to be stronger, as we can't leave it up to the courts to make a judgment on a case-by-case basis."
After failing in the subpoena bid, and also an attempt to keep the losing judgment under wraps, lawyers for Ms Rinehart will argue next month to reopen the case.
