Adjudication No. 1143 (November 2001) [2001] APC 44

Adjudication No. 1143 (November 2001)

The Press Council has upheld a complaint by Ryde councilor Larry Chin against the Northern District Times over a report on the local council acceptance of a development application made by Mr Chin and his wife for a childcare centre.

The application, made by the Chin company Gold Castle Construction and Homes, had been through a series of local council and Land and Environment Court examinations, some modifications and, finally, acceptance by an independent planner and the local council.

In covering the final stage of the matter, the paper accurately reported that the application had been accepted, but the report was not entirely balanced. The paper reported that 16 letters and 152 signatures (from the immediate area) opposing the development had been received by the local council in a month, but it did not report that the local council had also received 14 letters and four petitions with 264 signatures (largely from outside the immediate area) supporting it.

However, the paper did report the Mayor speaking in support of the Chins, and a council officer's rejection of the need for a preservation order on a tree in the development area. This gave a limited balance to the story.

However, the headline was not balanced. It read Kindy not welcome, true to some degree, but it is also true that something like an equal number of people were ready to welcome the 'kindy'.

The Press Council rules that overall there was a lack of balance.