Adjudication No. 1241 (June 2004) [2004] APC 16

Adjudication No. 1241 (June 2004)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Robert Bropho and the Swan Valley Nyungah Community concerning an article headlined Scandal of Lauren B published in the Weekend Australian on 6-7 March 2004.

The article chronicles several cases of child sexual abuse and reports on a $75 million project by the Western Australian Government to include a network of police child protection officers and more resources to assist victims of abuse.

The unit's establishment follows a 2001 inquiry headed by Magistrate Susan Gordon into child abuse and violence in Aboriginal families following incidents in an aboriginal camp near Perth and the suicide of a 15 year old girl at the camp.

The article examines the handling of a child sex abuse case involving Lauren B, and asks how much has changed since the Gordon Inquiry.

Mr Bropho as spokesperson for the Swan Valley Nyungah Community complains that that Lauren B has no connection to his community and that by linking this case to the death of the 15 year old girl the article "downgrades" both himself and members of his community.

The newspaper points out that the article is not about Mr Bropho and neither he nor the Swan Valley Nyungah Community is named in the article. The article is an examination of sexual abuse issues and how such cases are handled in Western Australia.

The Press Council agrees.