Adjudication No. 912 (April 1997) [1997] APC 13

ADJUDICATION No. 912 (April 1997)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed the main thrust of a complaint against The Sun-Herald's publication of a by-lined article asserting that the late Gus Kelly, a NSW Labor Government Chief Secretary, was crooked --- presiding over "corruption on an epic scale". However, it upheld a secondary complaint that the newspaper grossly distorted the complainant's letter in response.

The article, by Alex Mitchell, said among other things that "[t]he extensive system of bribery which Kelly perfected over almost three decades was passed on to the Liberal Government of Sir Robert Askin when it swept to office in 1965".

The complainant is Geoffrey Reading, who was a political reporter before becoming a public relations officer for Labor Premier Jack Renshaw and then Liberal Premier Askin.

Mr Reading sets out in his written complaint:

"While purporting to expose the longest-standing and most corrupt and bizarre political conspiracy in Australia's history, the article does not offer a shred of evidence in support."

The story, in The Sun-Herald of 24 November 1996, was prefaced by the statement: "Political and police corruption on a grand scale over three decades has been uncovered by Alex Mitchell". And the heading was: "The most corrupt politician of all".

Mr Mitchell led his article by recalling evidence by former Police Commissioner Tony Lauer to the Police Royal Commission. Mr Lauer had told of a police perception, current when he joined the force in 1955, that corruption existed at a top level "among their political masters" and, as a result, police did not tamper with SP operators.

Mitchell's article asserted that Mr Kelly, Chief Secretary for a record 22 years, was involved with bribery on a grand scale, that police took their "sling" from SP operators, passed the lion's share on to the politicians, and that share was divided "60 percent to corrupt MPs on the Government side, 40 percent to corrupt MPs on the Opposition". The Sun-Herald defended its right to publish the article. It set out that Mr Mitchell had done his own research "interviewing former police officers and other people".

The Press Council notes that articles of this kind raise controversial issues - quality of evidence as against wild assertion, the public's right to information and informed comment, the rights of dead politicians and their families and aspects of defamation.

On balance, the Press Council must protect the public's right to know rather than support suppression of information.

Given that it is well established that official corruption has flourished in New South Wales for many years, the public is entitled to as much light being shone on these matters as possible.

By these criteria the Mitchell article does not merit Press Council criticism. The Council has held on previous cases before it that the level of proof required in a criminal prosecution is not a proper basis for judging press articles invoking the "right to know".

However, it takes the view that The Sun-Herald should have published more than it did of a letter to the editor by Mr Reading and should not have edited it in a way that directly reversed the thrust of his comment.