Adjudication No. 178 (February 1984) [1984] APC 1

ADJUDICATION No. 178 (February 1984)

By letter of 9 June 1983, the Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commission complains about a "poem" published in the Kilmore Free Press on 4 May 1983.

The "poem", more aptly childish doggerel entitled "God Bless Australia (damn good place)", purports to be a satirical look at the advantages to Vietnamese migrants of Australia's welfare system.

The Ethnic Affairs Commission regards it as offensive and "is of the opinion that an apology should be made to the Vietnamese community and an article should be published to redress the damage caused".

The newspaper's owner-editor, Mr L. J. Smith, points out that the newspaper published all letters received about the matter "in spite of the fact that some were not exactly complimentary",

The Press Council firmly believes that the public interest in this case would have best been served if such blatantly offensive material had not been published.

It draws attention to Clause 8 of its Statement of Principles: "The publication in a newspaper of matter disparaging or belittling groups in the community by reference to their sex, race, nationality, religion, colour or country of origin is a serious breach of ethical standards".

In this particular case, the Press Council believes the published material was racially offensive and could serve only to incite and inflame racial intolerance. Such publications invite penal legislation likely to go much further than the situation requires.

The complaint is upheld. The newspaper is severely censured.