A judge's Facebook posts about Grace Tame, American singer Halsey and others are evidence of bias when he awarded compensation to a child abuse survivor, it is claimed.
Retired teacher Stephen Noga, 76, as well as the state of Tasmania, were sued in a civil court claim by a female former student over alleged sexual abuse in the 1980s.
Justice Stephen Estcourt in April awarded $1.6 million in compensation to the woman, finding on the balance of probabilities Noga raped her at a hotel in 1981 when she was 16 and his student.
Noga appealed the decision on four grounds, including that social media posts and reposts made by Justice Estcourt before and during the trial contained material generally supportive of victims of sexual abuse.
This created a perception that Justice Estcourt may have been more readily inclined to support the woman's case, it is claimed.
The Facebook posts and reposts allegedly made by Justice Estcourt have been made public after a suppression order in the matter was lifted.
One of the 15 posts or reposts cited is a link to a story published by Women's Agenda titled "The attempt to punish Grace Tame tells us everything about how we treat women who speak up".
Ms Tame was the 2021 Australian of the Year and a child sexual abuse survivor who has advocated for victims.
Another is a link to a "haunting and emotional poem about sexual assault" by Halsey.
There is also a post referencing the life of Bo Derek, explaining her marriage to film director John Derek, a "much older man in a position of authority", in the 1970s.
The posts showed a general theme of sympathy or support for child sexual abuse victims, Noga's lawyer Chris Gunston told the appeal court.
But the woman's lawyer Bruce McTaggart said there was no logical connection between Justice Estcourt's posts and his decision.
"Judges are human beings; they have all sorts of beliefs," he told the court on Wednesday.
"99.9 per cent of people would have sympathy for victims of child sexual abuse.
"The fact the judge was posting ... one may argue he ought not to have been - but that doesn't make the connection that he wasn't able to bring a fair and impartial mind."
Noga's claim includes screenshots of the posts, allegedly made from Justice Estcourt's Facebook account.
But Mr McTaggart said their origin had not been properly established.
The court will deliver its ruling on the appeal at a later date.
Noga also argues Justice Estcourt made errors of law and accepted the woman's evidence despite "numerous inconsistencies".
The state and Noga were ordered to pay the woman, who has a terminal illness, more than $1.4 million, while Noga was ordered to pay $200,000 on top of that figure.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
