Adjudication No. 141 (30 September 1982) [1982] APC 21

ADJUDICATION No. 141 (30 September 1982)

Inspector T. J. Mullaly of the Australian Federal Police complains by letter of 19 April 1982 of a Daily Telegraph article 10 March 1982, in particular of its headline and first paragraph. If read carefully and with some knowledge of the background to the story in question (concerning the "Mr Asia" gang and its activities), the article would be understood as reporting that a Royal Commission had heard a tape-recorded interview with a man now dead which claimed that certain police officers were corruptly connected with "Asia gang" activities. If read hastily (as it probably would be by many members of the public), the headline and first paragraph in combination with the rest could well be understood as a flat assertion that the police officers were in fact corrupt and that this was asserted by a living witness. The article has already been drawn to the attention of the Royal Commissioner who commented on the inaccurate conclusions which could be drawn from it and stated the facts. This part of the hearing was not reported by the paper.

Mr Hogben of News Ltd claims that the style of composition and printing involved is commonly used and easily intelligible. The council agrees that the relation of the material to "Mr Asia" was legitimate journalism. It considers that the heading could have been in a form which more fairly expressed the meaning intended, but that the net effect would be clear enough to the average reader. But the council considers that the correction of the report by the commission itself should certainly have been reported.