 In early 2007, Clarke successfully sued Melbourne University Press for defamation at the District Court of New South Wales after the publication of a book, "The Education of a Young Liberal", by former member of the Liberal Party's small 'l' liberal faction (known as "The Group").The defendant publisher conceded that imputations of political extremism were defamatory, and the court held that the book further defamed Clarke by slurs on his character.Sharri Markson writes that "[I]"t's when talking about topics other than politics that he "[i.e.