Adjudication No. 49 (February 1978) [1978] APC 2

ADJUDICATION No. 49 (February 1978)

The Professional Officers' Association, Australian Public Service, complained to the Australian Press Council about the headings, introduction and cartoons in an article in The Bulletin, Sydney, of November 14, 1978, which dealt with superannuation benefits paid to public servants.

The heading said "Superannuation Scandal - How to Retire with $500,000". The introductory paragraphs mentioned large payments to retiring public servants, but the article provided no evidence to substantiate the assertion in the heading that public servants were retiring with $500,000.

The Council heard evidence from the Association's Research and Information Officer, Mr. M. S. Plummer, that the heading was misleading.

Considering the matter, the Council took no exception to the use of cartoons which satirised public service superannuation pay outs, nor to the detailed subject matter of the article, which had been criticised in letters to the editor from various public service associations and individuals.

The Council found, however, that the headline was misleading and incorrect, because, first, it gave the reader an initial impression that public servants enjoyed a position of privilege which was not borne out in the body of the article, and, secondly, it afforded to readers a promise of information which the article did not fulfil. The complaint is upheld.