Former adviser Kate Baldock sues The Australian for school sex abuse 'cover-up' claims

A former adviser to South Australia's education minister is suing a national newspaper for defamation, claiming it suggested she was party to a cover-up of an Adelaide school sex abuse case.

Kate Baldock, who is now media adviser to Attorney-General John Rau, has launched the claim for damages against The Australian in South Australia's Supreme Court.

Ms Baldock claimed her character and reputation were "gravely injured", that she has been "brought into hatred, ridicule and contempt" and that she has suffered "hurt, embarrassment and distress" by two articles published by the newspaper in August last year.

Ms Baldock claimed the articles, titled "Third staffer 'covered up' rape" and "Call for sacking over sex-abuse cover-up", were published "to a substantial but unquantifiable number of readers" on the newspaper's website.

In her claim she alleges the articles suggested she was party to the cover-up of the rape of a girl at a public school by convicted paedophile Mark Christopher Harvey, then the director of the school's Out of School Hours Care service.

Harvey is serving a prison sentence of 11 years over the abuse of five children.

Four of the cases emerged after his initial conviction.

The handling of the matter sparked a Royal Commission, headed by Justice Bruce Debelle.

Ms Baldock was not called to give evidence to the Royal Commission but was one of three State Government ministerial staffers who was compelled to appear before a Legislative Council select committee into child sex abuse.

In her statement of claim, Ms Baldock said the articles by reporter Michael Owen suggested she "deliberately failed to tell her Minister or anyone else in the government [of the Harvey case]... as part of a cover-up... for political reasons associated with an imminent by-election" and that her refusal to answer questions from Mr Owen "evidenced an acceptance on her part of responsibility for the cover-up".

She also claims the articles suggested she had "developed a media strategy... designed to keep parents in the dark on the matter".

Newspaper says alleged imputations 'substantially true'

In its defence, the paper has denied the claim, saying the alleged imputations were "substantially true". 

It said Mr Owen obtained a series of emails between Education Department media liaisons which Ms Baldock was copied into, in which there is discussion of a holding line for use if media representatives got wind of Harvey's conviction.

The defence claims that in the emails, a regional manager confirms a strategy to draft a letter to parents at the school, but only release it if the story was "released to the media".

The Australian said Ms Baldock did not raise any objection to the proposed strategy and did not inform then education minister Grace Portolesi about the case.

The paper said "the publication was reasonable in the circumstances" and it occurred on an occasion of "qualified privilege".

It said the reports related to a matter of public interest, based on proper material.

Ms Baldock has been given time to file a response to The Australian's defence and the parties will meet for a settlement conference next month.