Adjudication No. 775 (January 1995) [1995] APC 5

ADJUDICATION No. 775 (January 1995)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint against The Courier Mail, Brisbane, which published an article (1 March 1994) by Canberra correspondent Peter Charlton under the heading "Time to toss in towel as punches tell", describing circumstances leading to the resignation from the ministry of Ros Kelly, former Minister for Sport.

Bob Grove specifically complains that the article refers to Mrs Kelly with "unqualified appellation (as the) Minister for Sports Rorts". He states that the author had previously encapsulated in quotation marks the label 'sports rorts' to clearly indicate that its use is doggerel and not fact. He further complains that Mr Charlton's "naked use" presented a Federal Ministry that does not exist.

The Press Council believes that the title used by Mr Charlton was clearly satirical, and there was no intention to mislead.