News in brief - February 2005

Australian Press Council Prize

There will be no Essay Prize in 2005. Instead the Council will be making a series of awards for outstanding scholarship through the various journalism departments and faculties at Australian tertiary institutions. The Council will endow prizes for such courses, particularly in the study of ethics.

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National Security Information (Criminal Proceedings) Bill 2004

The Federal Government has amended its latest national security legislation after the Council raised concerns about some of the definitions in the legislation. The Bill was intended to prevent information that could threaten national security being made public during terrorism trials.

The Government has argued that such legislation is needed to ensure that those accused of terrorism can be charged without, for instance, tipping off accomplices about where information came from or providing terrorists with additional information that might help them plan attacks. It allows the Attorney-General to order that sensitive evidence should be considered in a hearing closed to the public, the media and even to lawyers who do not have a security clearance.

When the proposed legislation was introduced, the Senate referred it for examination to a Committee to which the Council made a detailed submission, published in the August 2004 APC News. The Council was particularly concerned with the definition of "national security" which included within it matters related to Australia's "national interests". The Council saw this as unnecessarily broad and argued that it would allow a government to keep almost anything in such a trial secret.

While the Council had other concerns with the proposed Bill, some of which were addressed by the Senate Committee's recommendations, accepted by the government, it was the overly broad definition of national security which remained the Council's primary concern.

Late last year, the Council, together with representatives of John Fairfax Publishing, met with the Attorney-General.

The definition was subsequently narrowed to say "national security means Australia's defence, security, international relations or law enforcement interests".

The amended National Security Information (Criminal Proceedings) Bill passed the Senate and now goes to the lower house.

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On the Council

John Fairfax Publications has appointed Sam North as its new representative on the Australian Press Council, replacing the recently retired John Digby. Sam North has been at Fairfax for the past 28 years, coming from the Newcastle Herald to The Sydney Morning Herald in 1989. At the SMH he has been, variously, deputy sports editor, Olympics editor, letters editor, Olympic productions editor, Northern Herald editor, Fairfax chief of staff Sydney Olympics, and he organised and led the Fairfax team to the Athens Olympics. Sam has been a senior writer, winning a National Press Club award for writing, and the Fosters Racing Writer of the Year award for best feature. At the moment he is Managing Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald. Born in March 1951, Sam is married, with two children. Gerard Noonan will continue to serve as Fairfax's alternate representative.

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Apology - Annual Report 28

The editor apologises to all readers for the unprofessional way in which the annual report was issued last year. Due to a mix-up between the office and the printer of the report, the penultimate version of the report, rather than the final, proofread version, was printed. The published version contained a number of typographical and other errors for which I am sorry.

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Defamation

The Council's Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon has written to all State Premiers and both territory Chief Ministers to congratulate their Attorneys-General on the progress made by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General towards uniformity of Australian defamation law.

"The release of the model law for the states and territories following its meeting in November creates a unique opportunity to reform defamation law in Australia and to eliminate the variations across jurisdictions which have given rise to extensive forum shopping," he said.

The Council, which represents the major newspaper and magazine publishers, has been urging uniformity of defamation laws across Australia's jurisdictions for some time. When the Council took up defamation reform in 2000 and 2001, the matter had dropped off the SCAG agenda. Given that its constituent publishers distribute periodicals in a large number of jurisdictions, the Council was concerned with the risk created by the uncertainty created by publications having to have regard for so many different standards.

The Chairman noted, "The Council is pleased to see that the draft developed by the Attorneys addresses a number of the important issues which the Council has sought to include in any reformed defamation law, particularly the proposal for extensive pre-litigation procedures which deal with the question of restoration of reputation, through Offers of Amends. The Council believes that such a procedure will have the effect of settling a greater number of cases without the need for extensive court time to be occupied by lengthy trials. The Council also believes that the inclusion of a recommendation for a defence of truth alone, of caps on damages for non-economic loss, and a shortened limitation period are all positive developments."

Having seen SCAG move so far towards reform and uniformity in the last twelve months, he told the Premiers and Chief Ministers that the Council looked forward to the early introduction of legislation into the various Parliaments and to the passage of the reforms. "The ability of the states and territories to be able promptly to harmonise defamation across the jurisdictions will demonstrate the co-operation can work to the advantage of the Australian people", he concluded.

At the same time, the Chairman has been in further contact with the federal Attorney-General, who has been developing a separate national defamation law. The Chairman drew attention to the developments in the states and territories and commended the Attorney for his efforts in encouraging the move towards harmonisation of the various extant defamation laws. The Council expects that the further development of the proposed federal legislation will be dependent on the actions taken by the states and territories.

See also
Index of website material on defamation.

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Privacy submission

The Press Council has made a submission to the Office of then federal Privacy Commissioner in response to its review of the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act 1988.

As the body which administers the Privacy Standards for the Print Media under the media exemption in the federal Privacy Act 1988, the Australian Press Council submitted that the exemption appears to be working well, that the Council's experience indicates that an appropriate balance between the flow of information of public interest and concern and individuals' rights to privacy in their private affairs has been struck and that, within the print media, the appropriate organisations and activities are covered by the exemption. The Council also appended a brief summary of the privacy matters with which it has dealt in the last three reporting years.

The Council is making a submission along similar lines, but in more detail, to a Senate Committee which is concurrently reviewing the Privacy Act. In that submission the Council notes the recent formal subscription to the Privacy Standards of APN News & Media Ltd. That subscription means that all major newspaper publishers (and most large magazine publishers) now subscribe to the Standards.

The Council also noted that, following inquiries from a number of other organisations about the possibility of subscribing to the Standards, the Council considered the position of, inter alia, schools, churches, hospitals, and telecommunication companies which claimed to engage in 'journalism'. It determined that the Privacy Standards for the Print Media can only be subscribed to by 'media organisations' as the Act allows exemption only for such organisations, and not others who might, incidentally, publish periodicals.

The Council noted that its experience with administering the Standards has been positive. By and large, the print media respect such provisions, as demonstrated by the low number of complaints received each year by the Council on such matters, fewer than 5 per cent of complaints to it are about invasion of privacy. Similarly, the most recently available statistics from the NSW Privacy Commissioner indicate that only 1.6 per cent of complaints received by his office arise from intrusions by the media. Polls and complaints overwhelmingly indicate that the public main concern with respect to privacy invasions is through the proliferation and cross-matching of databases.

In the year 2001-2002, there were 23 complaints on privacy matters dealt with by the Council. From among these, five were refused, four were settled by mediation or otherwise settled to the complainant's satisfaction; and four were adjudicated (No. 1144 upheld a complaint against a general interest magazine; No. 1160 was dismissed; No. 1162 dealt with complaints against two newspapers, one of which was upheld and one dismissed).

During the reporting year 2002-2003, there were 22 complaints which cited the Privacy Standards. Two were the subject of adjudication (No. 1189 and No. 1192, both complaints were dismissed); in four cases the complainant preferred to take legal action; and the vast majority were settled by mediation or otherwise settled to the complainant's satisfaction.

In the most recent year, 2003-2004, there were 24 new complaints which cited the Privacy Standards. One was the subject of adjudication (No. 1219 which was upheld in part but not on the question of privacy invasion); in two cases the complainant preferred to take legal action; and three were carried forward. Another fourteen were settled by mediation or otherwise settled to the complainant's satisfaction. Two matters carried forward from the previous year were also successfully mediated.

The Council concluded that its experience with administering the Standards indicates to it that no changes are needed to the media exemption as it currently stands.

The submission to the Senate Committee will be posted in full to the Council's website in due course.

See also
Index of website material on privacy.

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Research

The Australian Press Council is initiating a new research grant which will be first applied in 2005.

Following a meeting with a number of tertiary researchers in areas directly related to journalism and the press, and in a number of ancillary research areas which also deal with matters related to the Council's primary functions, the maintenance of a free and a responsible press, the Council took the decision to assist where possible researchers whose work was seen as having practical benefits in furthering the Council's Objects.

This assistance would take several forms. The Council, and its office, would be receptive to requests from researchers for non-monetary assistance, either by access to the Council's records or by providing access, where possible to its Constituent members, the publishers and associations of publishers. In such a way, the Council might be able to assist researchers in meeting some criteria for the securing of ARC grants.

Of more immediate and practical impact is the Council's decision to allocate up to $5000 in its current budget towards the provision of bridging finance to enable researchers better to develop projects for submission to the Australian Research Council or to similar granting bodies.

The Council has sought from tertiary researchers a submission of an outline of proposed research, together with a precis of the practical outcomes envisaged by the researchers. These proposals will be submitted to a judging panel that will include senior newsroom personnel and one grant (or more) will be made by the Council along the lines noted above. The time for the submission of expressions of interest has now passed and the Council would expect to make a decision on any grants as soon as possible.

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Privacy Standards

In February 2005, APN News and Media Ltd formally subscribed its newspaper publications to the Council's Privacy Standards. This means that all major newspaper publishers now subscribe to the Standards.

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Mediated complaints

The Council office tries to solve matters by direct contact with the publication concerned. This often leads to a settlement of the matter satisfactory to both parties. On occasion, a Public Member of the Council (or a member of the secretariat) will convene a face-to-face mediation, by agreement with the parties. Below are some examples of the matters recently settled in these ways.

• A magazine published a letter, without first checking that the complainant was its author (she wasn't). After discussions with the Council, the magazine has changed its procedure to include the need for readers to submit a contact telephone number for verification. As the letter had been run over a set of initials, and the magazine was prepared to review its procedures, the complainant was satisfied with the result.
   
• An academic complained about an article on climate change which had appeared in a gardening magazine. He disagreed with the assertions made in the article. After the matter had been brought to its attention by the Council office, the magazine agreed to publish a letter from the complainant in its next available edition. The publication of his letter satisfied the academic's complaint.
   
• A Sunday metropolitan misquoted a politician's comments regarding an education program. After the matter had been brought to the editor's attention by the Council, he contacted the politician direct. The newspaper and complainant agreed on the contents of a follow-up article, clarifying the inaccurate comment. It was published the following week, satisfying the complainant.

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