Adjudication No. 1135 (September 2001) [2001] APC 36

Adjudication No. 1135 (September 2001)

The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint from the Victorian Bar that The Age failed to publish a balancing letter from the Bar in response to material published in the newspaper.

The Bar complained to the Council following the publication of two stories and an editorial in The Age relating to circumstances surrounding the resignation of the former Chief Magistrate Michael Adams last October. Attorney-General Rob Hulls's perceived involvement in Mr Adams's departure was central to the articles, which reported that Mr Hulls had commissioned advice from Mr Mark Dreyfus QC about restructuring the Magistrates Court.

The Age described Mr Dreyfus as a friend of Mr Hulls and a one-time adviser to former Labor Attorney-General Jim Kennan. It also reported that Mr Dreyfus was among the first group of Queens Counsel to be appointed after the Bracks Government came to office.

The day after the first story appeared and on the day the editorial was published, the Bar Chairman faxed a letter to the newspaper in which he claimed that The Age had created the impression that the appointment of Mr Dreyfus as Queens Counsel was based on his connections rather than merit. The Chairman explained that the appointment process requires an application supported by references from the judiciary to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who then makes recommendations to the Attorney-General.

Following publication of the second story, the Bar Chairman again contacted The Age asking that his initial letter be published.

The Press Council believes that the Bar's expectation that its Chairman's prompt and brief letter explaining the appointment process of a QC would be published was reasonable and that the explanation may have been of interest to the newspaper's readers.