Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has lost an application for an interim restraining order against a Daily Mail journalist he alleges stalked him. He has applied for a restraining order against the reporter, partly on the grounds she allegedly stalked him. The matter has been set down for a hearing in November, with Lehrmann’s application for an interim restraining order rejected by the magistrate, Marica Duvnjak, on Tuesday. Smith’s lawyer, Nic Edmondson, opposed the interim order, noting there was a journalistic exemption under the legal definition of stalking. Burrows said an interim order preventing Smith from threatening, harassing or abusing Lehrmann would at least provide him with “some comfort”.