Peter Dutton to enter court-ordered mediation with Shane Bazzi in tweet defamation case

Judge says defence minister and refugee activist he is suing should be able to reach a compromise' if they act sensibly'

The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has been ordered to attend mediation after a federal court judge said his defamation case over a tweet calling him a rape apologist" was not among the court's biggest and could be settled pre-trial.

Dutton is suing a refugee activist, Shane Bazzi, over the tweet, after vowing in March he would take a more aggressive stance against false and defamatory statements made about him online.