Adjudication No. 726 (June 1994) [1994] APC 35

ADJUDICATION No. 726 (June 1994)

The Press Council has upheld a complaint against the Sydney Morning Herald in respect of an article published on 30 March 1994 under the heading "Domestic violence 'victim' faces jail".

The article centred on "Anne" who was described as a "46-year-old pensioner who single-handedly looks after a teenage son and 83-year-old mother". The article reported that she was scared because she would be jailed for seven days as she could not pay "the court fees on a domestic violence case she brought against her husband". The article also reported a number of specific allegations against her husband. In one of these allegations she claimed that she had given her husband more than $3,000 for the court costs and rent money she had owed him, but that he had refused to give her a receipt.

The Press Council understands the anguish of the complainant, Anne's husband, and the claimed distress to him and his family, despite the use of a pseudonym by the newspaper. The newspaper had published Anne's version of events, a version which was clearly adverse to the complainant and which was emphatically contradicted by the complainant and by an account written in the 24 April 1994 edition of the Sun-Herald by Mr Chris Murphy, a lawyer-columnist.

The Press Council understands the contention of the newspaper that the key issue "was not simply the story Anne told but the undeniable fact of her situation - namely, that she was headed for jail because she had not paid court fees or costs". That key issue was clearly intertwined with the background circumstances of the story. However, in reporting those circumstances the newspaper cannot avoid its duty to ensure accuracy and balance in its reporting.

Although the Press Council acknowledges the time constraint in this case, the Council is not persuaded that sufficient steps were taken to verify the facts of the story.