Adjudication No. 421 (October 1989) [1989] APC 34

ADJUDICATION No. 421 (October 1989)

Mrs Valda Olden of Irymple, Victoria, complains to the Australian Press Council concerning the coverage by the Sunraysia Daily newspaper, Mildura, of the trial of Mr William Keech for the murder of her husband.

Mrs Olden complains that the newspaper covered at great length the opening of the prosecution which asserted that the murder was committed because of Mr Keech's relationship with her; the trial lasted from five to six weeks and when she was called to the witness stand on two consecutive days the paper did not have a reporter in court to hear her side of the story. After the trial she attempted to have the paper publish a letter but this was not accepted because an appeal had been lodged and the paper feared it might be guilty of contempt.

The newspaper replies that it found it impossible to assign a reporter for about 26 sitting days and gave the trial the best coverage it could.

The newspaper may well have been excessively prudent in relation to the law of contempt but the Council does not believe that the Sunraysia Daily acted unreasonably on this point. However, Mrs Olden appears to have had a pivotal role in the case, and the Council considers that to ensure a fair coverage of the trial her evidence should have been reported in what was otherwise a very full account of the trial over several weeks.

The complaint is upheld.