Adjudication No. 583 (July 1992) [1992] APC 53

ADJUDICATION No. 583 (July 1992)

The Press Council has examined a complaint against the Bellinger (NSW) Courier-Sun over reports and letters dealing with plans for a new bridge over the Bellinger river.

Mr Norman Braithwaite, a former councillor, claims that the paper was irresponsible and unfair in its treatment of his record on the council, his views on the bridge and the need for a bypass road for heavy traffic, his letters to the paper on the subject, and in its use of a sketch map of the bridge and roads.

The paper says that the sketch was a copy of a map displayed in the council chambers; the map had Mr Braithwaite's name on it. The paper also said it reported on developments in the bridge planning and financing accurately, and commented on them fairly. It had been truncated for space reasons, and it also published four letters from councillors who supported the paper's position on delays to obtaining funding from from the State Government.

It is impossible for the Press Council to trace exactly the way in which the bridge planning was developed ... and delayed. Nevertheless, it can say that the sketch map seems to be the one provided originally by Mr Braithwaite, but who marked the by-pass route on it is in doubt. Mr Braithwaite's views were given an airing in the letter columns, even if his direct criticism of the paper and its editor was not.

Mr Braithwaite's claim claim that the sketch, as published by the paper, was a "mischievous forgery" does not seem justified. The Council cannot draw any conclusion as to who marked the by pass route.

On the other hand, the paper's editorial criticism of Mr Braithwaite was strong. Whether justified or not, it is impossible for the Press Council to decide in view of the conflicting evidence put to it and the limited nature of council records.