Adjudication No. 172 (October 1983) [1983] APC 22

ADJUDICATION No. 172 (October 1983)

By letter of 22 April 1983, representatives of Mrs Edith Port objected to an interview report published by the Sydney Morning Herald on 19 March 1983 in which complainant's late husband, Mr Leo Port, formerly Lord Mayor of Sydney, was mentioned. The words used, in combination with a summary account of business dealings of the late Mr Port, suggested strongly that Mr Port was either a "crook", or was "crazy" if he did not realise that he had done something crooked. Mr Port died in 1978. Shortly before his death, the National Times had published an article setting out at length certain transactions in which Mr Port had been engaged, from which it might be inferred that he had accepted substantial payments in return for agreeing to facilitate the obtaining of necessary approvals to property developments, including approval of the Sydney City Council of which he was Mayor. The article now the subject of complaint summarised the allegations against Mr Port in the National Times article of 1978.

The reference to Mr Port occurred in the course of an interview with the Town Clerk of Sydney which sought reminiscences of a series of Lord Mayors, including Mr Port, with whom the Clerk had served, and the occasion for doing this was recent legislation reducing the powers and prestige of the City Council.

The Press Council considers that where there is an over-riding public interest there should be no barrier to raising allegations which may affect the reputation of deceased persons, even though these may cause distress to surviving relatives. The issue in this case is the taste of introducing the allegations against Mr Port in such terms and in the overall context of the article.

On balance the council believes that in this case the publication exceeded the bounds of taste.