Secrecy in Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case alarms transparency campaigners

Christian Porter has ordered that national security law be applied to court proceedings

The federal government's use of national security legislation to enforce secrecy on the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case has prompted concern from transparency campaigners, who say such laws are undermining the democratic right to open justice.

The attorney general, Christian Porter, has ordered provisions of the National Security Information Act be applied to civil proceedings between Roberts-Smith, a special forces veteran, and Nine Entertainment, which he accuses of defaming him as a war criminal in a series of news stories.