{"id":775786,"date":"2026-07-03T05:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775786\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T05:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:06:11","slug":"sky-news-australias-role-in-cairo-takeaway-fiasco-laid-out-by-judges-finding-it-published-misleading-statements-amanda-meade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/775786\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky News Australia\u2019s role in Cairo Takeaway fiasco laid out by judge\u2019s finding it published \u2018misleading\u2019 statements | Amanda Meade"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Daily Telegraph apologised in March for \u201ccausing distress\u201d<\/a> by sending a pro-Israel activist and a reporter to a popular Sydney Middle Eastern restaurant, News Corp may have believed it could draw a line under the ugly incident.<\/p>\n

But a judgment in the federal court this week reopened the wound and revealed that another arm of News Corp, Sky News Australia, was one of the outlets that published what Justice Robert Bromwich found were \u201chighly misleading and even deceptive\u201d statements about the settlement between the publisher, the activist and the restaurant.<\/p>\n

The Tele apology was part of a confidential agreed joint statement to resolve the legal dispute between the Newtown restaurant Cairo Takeaway and the pro-Israel activist Ofir Birenbaum. All the parties agreed to publish the statement in full and not to reveal the terms of the settlement. The settlement resolved out of court a defamation suit brought by Birenbaum against the cafe for statements made on social media.<\/p>\n

But the case was reopened after the restaurant alleged Birenbaum had breached the settlement by claiming in a separate statement he had been \u201ccompletely vindicated\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bromwich found Birenbaum breached parts of the legal settlement<\/a>, including in a Sky News segment hosted by Sharri Markson which reported that compensation had been paid to Birenbaum.<\/p>\n

Bromwich found on Tuesday that the information about compensation was conveyed by Birenbaum\u2019s lawyer, Rebecca Giles, to Markson or another employee of Sky News on behalf of Birenbaum.<\/p>\n

Bromwich said Markson referred in three places \u201cto compensation being paid to Mr Birenbaum from the respondents\u201d.<\/p>\n

At a hearing in May, Matthew Richardson, acting on behalf of Cairo Takeaway, read to the court a portion of an affidavit from Giles in which she denied contact with anyone from Sky News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not at any time prior to the publication of Sky, communicate with Ms Markson or any other person at Sky News or any related entity concerning the applicant, this proceeding or the resolution of the applicant\u2019s legal dispute with the respondents,\u201d she said in the affidavit, which was submitted but not entered into evidence, after it was revealed on the morning of the hearing that Giles would not appear for cross-examination.<\/p>\n

This week Bromwich found \u201cthat the information about compensation being paid to Mr Birenbaum was conveyed by Ms Giles to Ms Markson on behalf of Mr Birenbaum\u201d.<\/p>\n

Documents tendered in the case also revealed the contents of a briefing paper which Bromwich found was sent to the Daily Mail and Crikey by Giles, or someone on the lawyer\u2019s behalf, backgrounding journalists ahead of the confidential settlement.<\/p>\n

Giles has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

What has Neighbour seen?<\/p>\n

There is growing trepidation among executives on the seventh floor of the ABC\u2019s Ultimo headquarters in Sydney over an upcoming investigation by Sally Neighbour, the former executive producer of Four Corners. Neighbour, who retired from the ABC in 2022, has turned her considerable investigative skills to examining the tenure of the ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, for a piece in the August edition of The Monthly.<\/p>\n

In the job for one year and four months, the former Nine Entertainment boss took the unusual step of recruiting a news director<\/a> while the old one, Justin Stevens, was still in place.<\/p>\n

Former executive producer of Four Corners Sally Neighbour. Photograph: ABC publicity<\/p>\n

The shock departure of Stevens<\/a> in May, the day before Senate estimates, and the questions it raised about who leaked the news the 19-year veteran was leaving, are part of the investigation.<\/p>\n

As Weekly Beast previously reported, the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald published a detailed story<\/a> one minute after the managing director\u2019s office sent out a note to staff about Stevens\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n

This week The Australian published another story about Stevens based on a leak<\/a> that appeared to come from high up in the ABC: the amount of his payout.<\/p>\n

Surprise winner<\/p>\n

James Massola may have asked the most underwhelming question of Pauline Hanson at her National Press Club event last month, but that didn\u2019t stop the chief political commentator for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age being named federal press gallery journalist of year at this week\u2019s Midwinter Ball<\/a> for his \u201cinsightful analysis\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The $5,000 award is handed out by the National Press Club each year and the winner has their name inscribed on the honour board.<\/p>\n

A reminder of what Massola asked Hanson: \u201cA simple question for you, reflecting on your speech, your comments about migration and multiculturalism, and what have you, is Australia in danger of being swamped by Muslim migration?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanson: \u201cNot if I\u2019ve got anything to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday at the ball, some press gallery journos anticipated the award would go to The Australian\u2019s economics correspondent, Matthew Cranston, for his amazing budget scoop<\/a> about the working Australian tax offset.<\/p>\n

But Massola was the surprise winner for what the judges said was his foreshadowing \u201clast year the pressure on Liberals to move sharply to the right\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Exactly how big a deal is this?<\/p>\n

The budget was handed down in May but News Corp continues to do its best to put a negative spin on Labor\u2019s changes to negative gearing rules.<\/p>\n

Despite the headline, inside the paper, on page seven, Tayla Rachel revealed the tax changes were \u2018not as big a deal to me\u2019. Photograph: Daily Telegraph<\/p>\n

\u201cJim the Home Wrecker\u201d was the front page headline on a Daily Telegraph report that claimed real estate agents had warned \u201cno one will be turning up\u2019\u2019 at auctions and \u201cpanicked homebuyers\u201d were abandoning Sydney\u2019s property market.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s changes target those making future investments<\/a>, who will no longer be able to negatively gear established properties and will be taxed at the new inflation-adjusted rate for their capital gains.<\/p>\n

The Tele featured eastern suburbs renter Tayla Rachel, 29, on page one and depicted her as \u201cthe face of the market crunch\u201d.<\/p>\n

But inside the paper, on page seven, Rachel revealed the changes were \u201cnot as big a deal to me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked how the budget affected her, Rachel told the Tele: \u201cIt\u2019s not great. But it is a long-term investment property so it\u2019s not as big a deal to me \u2013 hopefully in many years time prices do go up\u201d.<\/p>\n

Similarly, a story in The Australian<\/a> headline \u201cFirst home negative equity alarm\u201d in the print edition, didn\u2019t quite live up to its promise.<\/p>\n

\u201cA brutal property downturn is trapping first-home buyers in a negative equity minefield, with fresh data showing values have plummeted across nearly all of the government\u2019s top loan guarantor hotspots,\u201d the Oz said.<\/p>\n

But it quoted the research director of the property data firm Cotality, Tim Lawless, as ssaying for most people the prospect of going into negative equity \u201cisn\u2019t that big a deal\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lawless said that based on the figures, \u201cwe will probably see a short-term level of negative equity for some of these buyers\u201d and while this in itself \u201cisn\u2019t that big a deal \u2026 it becomes \u201cmuch more important if those individuals or those households need to sell, of course, because they will be selling at a value that won\u2019t be clearing their debt on the home\u201d.<\/p>\n

Liz Truss, who was UK prime minister for 49 days, hosts The Liz Truss Show on YouTube, on which Bridget McKenzie was a guest this week. Photograph: InstagramMcKenzie and Truss on socialism<\/p>\n

If someone from the UK told any reasonable Australian they were living under \u201csocialist control\u201d they might balk at the suggestion.<\/p>\n

Not so the Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie who nodded in furious agreement when the former British prime minister Liz Truss asked her: \u201cYou are under socialist control in Australia. How is Anthony Albanese damaging the country?\u201d<\/p>\n

Truss, who was UK prime minister for 49 days, hosts The Liz Truss Show<\/a> on YouTube, on which McKenzie was a guest this week.<\/p>\n

McKenzie answered: \u201cIn every possible way, culturally and economically, Liz.\u201d<\/p>\n

She told Truss Australia was following Britain into disaster, citing the incorrect claim that \u201cWestern civilization has disappeared from the school curriculums\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Daily Telegraph apologised in March for \u201ccausing distress\u201d by sending a pro-Israel activist and a reporter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-775786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}