Adjudication No. 1308  (adjudicated February 2006)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Dr Barry Whittington that a Sunday Times article about motorcyclists who dangerously exceed speed limits in Western Australia with impunity. The complaint was that the report treated readers unfairly by suppressing and misrepresenting relevant facts.

The newspaper exposed how speeding motorcyclists escaped fines in Western Australia because motorcycles there are required to carry only rear numberplates whereas police speed cameras photograph offenders from the front.

The article included comment from the RAC that the State Government was dragging its heels in introducing legislation requiring motorcycles to carry front numberplates.

The complainant argued that the newspaper did not approach motorcycle associations for comment; did not discuss other methods of catching speeding motorcyclists; and did not mention the cost to riders of implementing front numberplates.

Dr Whittington wrote to The Sunday Times outlining his objections and received a reply from the editor rejecting the complaint. The editor said in his letter that the newspaper would return to the issue in the future.

In The Sunday Times report the RAC's support for front numberplates was countered only by a brief quote from the WA Office of Road Safety questioning the safety of such metal numberplates.

The central thrust of the article was the dangerous behaviour of speeding motorcyclists, as illustrated by the published table of the five most dangerous speeding incidents recorded by police.

The Council is of the view that the lack of further exploration of the subject, as criticised by Dr Whittington, does not in itself constitute a suppression of other views.

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