Adjudication No. 1250 (September 2004) [2004] APC 25

Adjudication No. 1250 (September 2004)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Sabina Sinclair against The Sydney Morning Herald over an opinion column published on 8 April 2004.

The article headed The teacher who played victim commented on the payment of $28,000 in back pay plus a weekly payment of $317.20 as compensation for Ms Sinclair's ex-husband. Jeff Sinclair was sacked by the Education Department in August 2003 for having a relationship with a student.

The column, by Miranda Devine, outlined the on-going nature of this relationship and noted the reaction of the NSW Education Minister Andrew Refshauge to the decision.

Ms Sinclair complained that sections of an interview she had given Woman's Day were reprinted in the article. Quoting her words without giving her any opportunity to elaborate upon the facts as she knew them was a distortion and unrepresentative of the truth, Ms Sinclair said.

In response to the complaint the newspaper said that the quotes were attributed to Woman's Day. Despite the strength of opinions expressed and many subsequent contacts from Ms Sinclair, as an involved party seeking to respond, the paper simply said it had not received material from Ms Sinclair suitable for publication. However, while recognising the newspaper has a discretion whether to publish letters to the editor, that discretion should be exercised in reasonable fashion. It would have been fairer if, in this instance, the paper had negotiated a suitable letter for publication.

The Council believes that the article contained material of public interest and detailed some of the historical background to the compensation decision including concerns from the ex-student's parents.

People who form the basis of feature articles are entitled to be accurately quoted if these quotes are directly attributed to them. In this case the Press Council believes that the use of the Woman's Day quotes from Ms Sinclair, which were clearly in the public domain, was justified in an article commenting on the background and history of the compensation payment.

Accordingly the complaint is dismissed.