A confidential out-of-court settlement has been agreed on, two months after Middle Head Healthcare launched legal action against the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Environment, Bob Baldwin.

You will recall that when Greg Hunt was the Minister for the Environment, he approved Middle Head Healthcare to build an 87-bed care facility on redundant Army land, overlooking Sydney harbour, after four years of planning.

What followed was a concerted attack by radio commentator, Alan Jones, leading to Bob Baldwin saying to Jones on air he would revisit the approval. Two weeks later he rescinded it without great detail on why he had made the decision.

This created a great media furore on the power and influence of Alan Jones. The court settlement indicates the government went outside its legal rights and has been caught out.