Adjudication No. 412 (August 1989) [1989] APC 26

ADJUDICATION No. 412 (August 1989)

The Rev Ann Wansbrough, on behalf of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, complains to the Australian Press Council concerning an article by Auberon Waugh which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on 15 February 1989 entitled "There aren't so many thorns in our Garden of Eden". The article was reproduced from The Spectator and relates to his opinion of Australia while here on a visit. The complainant finds the article highly offensive and believes it is an expression of racism. However, the Press Council dismisses the complaint.

The complainant says that the article does not show due respect for private rights and sensibilities in that it treats Aboriginal deaths as fodder for literary cleverness alone.

For those who have followed the writing of Auberon Waugh, the editor's judgement that he is acerbic, sardonic and contrary would seem apt. The Herald stresses that columnists play a role which differs from that of a straight news reporter or feature writer. It also believes its readers should be given an opportunity to see what is being written about Australia in the overseas press by a prominent writer. The Herald could not delete sections because they may be found to be offensive.

The Press Council believes Australians are entitled to read views different from those of the mainstream, including those which have been reported overseas, whether or not they appeal to all readers.

The complainant makes the following specific points:

1. There is an incorrect number of deaths reported.

However, the complainant has furnished neither the newspaper nor the Press Council with details and the reasons why those details would be correct. This was a matter which could have been attended to by a letter to the editor.

2. The complainant says that the article gives a false impression about the outcome of the Royal Commission for it implies no one could be prosecuted as a result of it.

The Press Council does not agree with this interpretation. Waugh merely says the Commission disappointed everyone by failing to recommend that any police or prison officers should be prosecuted and continues "it is hard to see what they could be prosecuted for". These are expressions of opinion, not a statement on legal procedure.

3. It suggests that the rate at which Aboriginal people die has nothing to do with their being in prison. The complainant says that some case reports suggest a strong link between experiences of prison/juvenile detention centres and death.

This of course is a matter of opinion, including expert opinion, and a debate will no doubt continue as to the connection between dying in prison and the fact of their being in prison. Waugh, along with everybody else, is entitled to have a view on this.