Adjudication No. 187 (May 1984) [1984] APC 14

ADJUDICATION No. 187 (May 1984)

By letter of 19 October 1983, Mr S. Schubert, Co-ordinator General of the Premier's Department in Queensland, complains about various aspects relating to a Medicare advertisement published by Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd publications in October.

Mr Schubert has apparently also complained to the Advertising Standards Council on this matter.

Insofar as the complaint concerns a dispute over whether an advertisement should be regarded as political; whether or not it required an authorisation; and how that authorisation line was obtained, these are properly matters for the Advertising Standards Council.

This leaves the question to be determined by the Press Council the complaint against an explanation published in the news columns of the Courier-Mail on 11 October.

Briefly, the facts are that a senior executive of the newspaper discussed the matter with Mr Schubert after his name was used as authoriser of the advertisement.

Mr Schubert says he originally agreed, reservedly, to the correction proposed.

Later, however, after being informed of a proposed political attack for this alleged action, he arranged for a statement to be phoned through to the newspaper that the original correction proposed was not explicit or meaningful enough to correct the mistake that had been made.

He says the newspaper company refused to alter the earlier statement and the result was that after the correction was published the attacks on him continued.

The Press Council does not believe the company was under an obligation to make any explanation over the interpretation of the Electoral Act and its action in seeking the name of an authoriser for the advertisement. Indeed, it was perfectly entitled to take no action until the matter had been resolved by the Advertising Standards Council.

Instead, the company acted promptly to correct in a news page the result of what seems to be a genuine view in its advertising department which caused distress to Mr Schubert.

The complaint is dismissed.