Former high-profile Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella has been awarded $175,000 in compensation for the damage to her reputation caused by a defamatory article in a small-town newspaper.

The Benalla Ensign article, which was published in April 2016, claimed she physically pushed her political rival, Independent MP Cathy McGowan, at an event at a Benalla nursing home in Victoria's north-east, an allegation she denied.

Sophie Mirabella outside court on Wednesday. Credit:Simon Schluter

In handing down his verdict at the County Court in Melbourne yesterday, Judge Michael Macnamara said the Ensign acted with ‘‘recklessness’’ in publishing the story without seeking a response from Mrs Mirabella.

The defence claimed during the trial that the push was ‘‘substantially true’’ because Mrs Mirabella was said to push Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt, not Ms McGowan.