Adjudication No. 946 (October 1997) [1997] APC 47

ADJUDICATION No. 946 (October 1997)

The Press Council has upheld a complaint against a column in The Sun-Herald containing claims about the legal status of a company, The Tourism Task Force Ltd (TTF), and about its relationship with former federal Tourism Minister, John Brown, and his son Christopher.

Outlining its lobbying against Federal and NSW Government proposals for a hotel bed tax, the column described the TTF as a `private company owned and operated by Brown and son which "primarily represents the owners, developers, financiers and operators of tourism infrastructure"'.

The TTF, through its CEO, Christopher Brown, complained to the paper that this description was false, pointing out that it was registered as a company limited by guarantee, and that it was owned by its members. It stated that the column had damaged the company's commercial interests, and sought a correction and retraction.

The Sun-Herald offered a correction, and alternative avenues for its publication. However, as well as clarifying the status and ownership of the TTF as requested, it proposed to publish details of the company's 1996 payments to John and Christopher Brown, as a consultant and CEO respectively.

Christopher Brown regarded this addition to the correction as `childish and spiteful', and as evidence of the paper's lack of contrition for its error. He complained to the Press Council both about the original column and about the unacceptable form of correction.

The Council considers that, as the original description of the Task Force was wrong, a correction in good faith should have been published.