Adjudication No. 1074 (February 2000) [2000] APC 9

ADJUDICATION No.1074 (February 2000)

The Press Council has upheld a complaint brought by convicted murderer Gerald Preston against The Advertiser, Adelaide .

Mr Preston was convicted in 1996 of a double murder and is serving a minimum 32 years term of imprisonment. His wife was killed in 1999. Their son, now aged six, is living with another family. An article published in The Advertiser on 28 September 1999 was headed "Lonsdale murderer wants prison visits from his son". The article said that Mr Preston wants his son to travel regularly from his home in Victoria to visit Mr Preston in prison in South Australia.

It is not disputed by the paper that the truth of the matter is that Mr Preston is seeking an order from the Family Court that he be permitted written and telephone contact with his son. He is not seeking any order that would require his son to visit him.

The story published by the paper was written by a Melbourne journalist. The Advertiser did not check its accuracy. Mr Preston claims that he wrote a letter to the editor protesting the material included in the article but the paper says that it has no record of receiving the letter.

Papers are responsible for the accuracy of what they publish. Here the information that forms the essential element of the story was wrong. The Advertiser is responsible for that and Mr Preston's complaint is upheld.