Adjudication No. 1122 (May 2001) [2001] APC 23

Adjudication No. 1122 (May 2001)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by the One Nation Party of biased election coverage in the Sound Telegraph newspaper in Rockingham, Western Australia.

The complaint was made by the local One Nation branch secretary, Graehame Maskell, who said the Sound Telegraph's coverage of the Western Australian state election campaign in the area gave the two One Nation candidates far less coverage than it gave to those of the major parties. Mr Maskell said the newspaper failed to publish profiles of One Nation candidates, did not follow up a promise to interview one of them, and did not publish a letter to the editor from the other.

The Sound Telegraph, a free community newspaper, said it had not promised any interview to the One Nation candidate and had not profiled any of the 25 candidates in the electorates in its circulation area. The only article in the Sound Telegraph that Mr Maskell specifically complained about, one on the law and order policies of the ALP, the Liberal Party and One Nation, in fact gave the One Nation policy equal space. As for the submitted letter, newspapers are under no obligation to publish letters from candidates which merely state their policies.

As the particular article cited is balanced, and the Council can find no evidence of unfairness in the general election coverage, the complaint is dismissed.