Adjudication No. 177 (November 1983) [1983] APC 28

ADJUDICATION No. 177 (November 1983)

The complainant, Mr R. Frost, is principal of the Culcairn primary school in the Albury district. He complains by letter of 25 August 1983 of two reports in the Albury Border Morning Mail dated 19 and 23 August concerning the consequences for parents and children of a teachers' strike due to occur, and which did occur, on 23 August. The gist of the complaint is that the newspaper reports wrongly left parents with the impression that all schools would remain open during the day of strike and that children who attended would be admitted and supervised, though not taught.

The publication agrees that Mr Frost informed it by telephone after the first article that the Culcairn school would not open, and in fact it was not open and did not provide supervision on the day of the strike.

The publication produces evidence of a statement in the NSW parliament by the Minister for Education and a Press release by the Director-General of Education suggesting that it was the intention of the government and the school authorities that all schools would remain open; the Minister but not the Director-General also promised supervision.

The Director-General's statement warned parents to check the situation at specific schools. The publication says its reporter checked with four Albury schools, and was told they would be open and supervised, and that he also checked with a Teachers' Federation officer in Sydney who said there was no intention to close any school; that officer denies having had any such conversation. There is also some dispute as to the position of one of the Albury schools.

The Press Council does not have to decide any of the disputed questions of fact concerning the complaint. It is plain on the agreed facts that the publication was in possession of information suggesting that the question of schools being open and providing supervision was open to some dispute. The publication had no reason to doubt the reliability of what Mr Frost had to say about his own school, and the Press release by the Director-General began and ended by stressing the desirability of parent inquiry as to the position in particular schools.

The council is satisfied that the publication acted in good faith on its judgment, based on the official statements and its telephone inquiries, that schools would be open and supervised. However, having regard to the importance of the issue for parents and children, it should not have brushed aside the qualification suggested by the information from Mr Frost and the Director-General's warning to parents. To this extent the complaint is upheld.