Dr John Flynn
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ABC News: On 16 November 2016, ABC News broadcast and published stories reporting allegations of paedophilia against Dr John Flynn committed by him in Australia and overseas. The reports included a reference to estimates of the number of boys involved and their origin. Those estimates cannot be corroborated and have been removed from the online story.
Company Tax
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7 pm News: On 5 December 2016, ABC News broadcast a finance report which stated that companies on average pay 25% in Company Tax, while they are ‘supposed’ to pay 30% as required by law. The broadcast did not make sufficiently clear that the figure was calculated on the basis of gross operating profits and did not include legitimate deductions which reduce the amount due under the Company Tax
Hocking Stuart
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ABC News 24: On 6 October 2016, News 24 broadcast a story about a Federal Court consumer affairs penalty imposed and findings made against Hocking Stuart Richmond. Footage was used of a different Hocking Stuart firm and its employees. The ABC wishes to clarify that the firm and its employees shown in the footage were not the subject of that Federal Court matter. We apologise to those shown in the footage
Isaac Frost
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ABC News: On 10 January 2016 ABC News published an online article and broadcast TV News stories reporting that Isaac Frost was sanctioned by the Tennis Integrity Unit after being found guilty of a tennis corruption offences during an ITF Futures tournament in Toowoomba in 2013. It is now understood by the ABC that Isaac Frost appealed against the TIU finding, and that the appeal was upheld. No mention of the fact of the appeal and its outcome was included in the Tennis Integrity Unit’s release to the media about this matter. There is no suggestion that Frost has been involved in match-fixing. The article has been amended
Milk price downturn
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7pm News Tasmania & Tasmanian Country Hour: On the 4th and 5th of December 2016 the ABC broadcast a report on the Tasmanian Country Hour and on ABC TV News about Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party registering for the Tasmanian election amid rural disenchantment with major political parties. The story infers that the supermarket milk pricing war is responsible for the current downturn in the price paid to milk producers. This comment is incorrect. The current financial downturn in the dairy sector relates to changes in the global market for milk.
Colombia FARC
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The World Today: On 3 October the presenter of The World Today misread statistics regarding the numbers of deaths in the conflict and the responsibility for them. The correct statistics, as provided by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory, are that 220,000 people died in the conflict between 1958 and 2013.
Junpeng Tan
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ABC News Online: In October this year, ABC News Online published an article about legal proceedings following the death of Junpeng Tan. That article included a statement issued by Maurice Blackburn lawyers which noted that the examining pathologist had concluded that Junpeng Tan likely died of snakebite. However, a subsequent pathologist’s report found no evidence of snakebite and the coroner ultimately could not ascertain the cause of Junpeng’s death. The article has been amended to reflect the findings of the later reports.
Bowen Basin Home Repossessions
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ABC Capricornia, News Digital: On Tuesday 29 November a report on ABC News Digital and the ABC Capricornia Facebook page included a photograph of a house for which rates are not owed to the council, and which is not connected with council’s plan to repossess houses for unpaid rates. The inclusion of the photograph was an error by the ABC. The house is owned by the children of the late Mrs Marlene Connolly. The ABC unreservedly apologises to Mrs Connolly’s children for its error and any harm it has caused.
Dr Bernie Power
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Local Radio Overnights: On 10 August in an interview with Dr Bernie Power about differences and similarities between the Bible and the Koran, the ABC failed to provide adequate information about the perspective from which Dr Power was addressing the issue. Dr Power lectures at the Melbourne School of Theology which is an evangelical Christian institution.
Peter Dutton
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774 ABC Melbourne Mornings with Jon Faine: During an exchange with the Breakfast presenter prior to his program, Mornings presenter Jon Faine accused federal Immigration Minister Peter Dutton of racially vilifying and stereotyping all Lebanese Muslims migrants as terrorists and criminals. However, the Minister had made it clear during Question Time that he was: "not going to allow people who are hardworking, who have done the right thing by this country, who have contributed, who have worked hard and who have educated their children, to be defined by those people who are doing the wrong thing and have been charged with terrorist offences or have been involved in crime otherwise." The Minister's comments are available in full here. On air the following morning Mr Faine stated: "I do acknowledge and accept that he [the Minister] didn't criticise all Australian Muslims of Lebanese background, even though I said he did...".
MH 370 Search
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PM: On 1 December PM reported that the purpose of a meeting convened by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) for 2-4 November was to prepare a plan for the Federal Transport minister to extend the search for MH370 to an area near the 34th parallel. In a statement to PM prior to broadcast, the Minister denied that was the purpose of the meeting; the Minister stated that the meeting was convened to conduct a review of evidence already gathered. PM apologises for failing to report the minister’s statement. The 3 November PM story on MH370 has been removed from the website: the story overstated the status of a ATSB plan to extend the MH370 search area; inaccurately reported that the Minister withdrew from an interview when no such commitment was made; and lacked objectivity in a statement concerning the Minister’s use of social media. The ABC apologises to the Minister for these editorial lapses.
Nuclear Waste Study
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TV News: on 9 October 2016 ABC News in a report on the Citizens’ Jury process to examine the suitability of a nuclear waste disposal facility in South Australia, reported that the Royal Commission jury recommended building an intermediate level nuclear waste dump. This was not correct; the Royal Commission recommended the establishment of used nuclear fuel and intermediate level waste storage and disposal facilities in South Australia.
Tax Deductions for Religious Organisations
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Lateline: On 9 September Lateline reported that all donations to churches are entirely tax deductible. This was not accurate; the Australian Tax Office can deem services operated by religious organisations to be deductible gift recipients. The government’s plebiscite legislation contained a provision to set up Yes and No advertising committees. As well as being given $7.5 million each from the government, each side would also be given deductible gift recipient status, to allow people to claim tax deductions for donations of up to $1500.
Cannabis Oil
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News: On 19 September Queensland 7pm News and ABC News 24 reported on a father seeking special permission from the Queensland Government to use cannabis oil in hospital for his daughter’s palliative care. The report included comments from Dr Richard Kidd, a spokesman for the Queensland AMA that "Children, in particular, have presented in hospitals in comas and died from cannabis oil". Dr Kidd was referring a Colorado study of children admitted to hospitals following cannabis ingestion. While studies show that cannabis ingestion can induce coma, there have been no conclusive findings that cannabis has caused child deaths. The online report has been amended to reflect this.
Dastyari legal costs
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RN Breakfast: An interview with Senator Stephen Conroy on RN Breakfast on September 8 included questions about Yuhu Group’s financial support of Senator Sam Dastyari. The interviewer stated that $40,000 and $5,000 had been provided by Yuhu Group to assist Senator Dastyari with legal fees. The reference to $40,000 was incorrect. Yuhu Group’s financial support to Senator Dastyari was about $5,000 and related to the settlement of a legal dispute.
Man Horan Monis
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Q&A: On 12 September during an exchange discussing gun regulation and terrorism the events of the Lindt Cafe siege were dealt with briefly. Q&A implied that siege gunman Man Haron Monis lawfully bought a shotgun. This was not the case: Monis was not a licensed gun owner and while it remains unclear how he obtained the shotgun he used in the siege, the evidence presented to the Coronial Inquest is that it came from the so-called “grey market” of weapons. It had been legally imported but never registered.
Australian Paradox
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Lateline: On April 13 Lateline broadcast a story on controversy surrounding an academic paper on the relationship between sugar and obesity called The Australian Paradox. The online article following this broadcast stated that the paper had concluded “the amount of sugar you consumed in things like soft drink had nothing to do with how much weight you put on.” This exaggerated the conclusion and has been removed. The article also initially conflated ‘sugar’ with ‘sugary drinks’ in this statement: “what they had recorded as a fall in consumption of sugar was actually a significant rise”. This statement has been clarified and now states: “what they had recorded as a fall in consumption of sugary drinks was actually a significant rise”.
Duffy v Google
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The Drum, Online: In November 2015, The Drum published a story referring to the decision of the Supreme Court of South Australia in Duffy v Google, a 2015 defamation case won by Dr Janice Duffy which included an examination of whether Google could be held liable for defamatory content written and published by others, once it had been notified of the defamatory content.
Proposed Superannuation Changes
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The Business: on 13 July The Business reported that former Treasurer, Peter Costello introduced no tax on super fund earnings and no tax on super fund payments in retirement after the age of sixty. This is incorrect, earnings from superannuation funds for the over 60’s were tax free before the changes made by the Howard/Costello government.
Apology to Mr John McNair
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ABC News Digital: In July last year we broadcast a story which stated that horse trainer John McNair had been fined by Racing NSW for giving a horse amphetamine and methamphetamine, or "ice", before a race. That report was not correct. Mr McNair was fined for presenting a horse with a prohibited substance in its system, however racing stewards expressly found that Mr McNair did not administer or have any knowledge of the administration of the substance to the horse. The ABC apologises to Mr McNair for any hurt or embarrassment caused by the error.
Late-term abortions
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News Online: On 15 June ABC News Brisbane published an article on newly released figures showing that the number of babies surviving late-term abortions have increased in Queensland. The story has been modified to remove a statement that babies were "not rendered care and allowed to die". Comments from the Minister regarding the physiological care offered were added.
Gaza
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7.30: On June 15 in the introduction to a 7.30 story the presenter said that it was ‘almost impossible’ for Palestinians in Gaza to seek urgent medical attention in Israel. The ABC concedes this exaggerated the real difficulties of Palestinians seeking medical treatment in Israel. In the online version of the story Gaza was described as ‘occupied’. This was not correct and has been removed. The errors were introduced as a result of editing in Sydney.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
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ABC News: On 22 May ABC Radio News reported that “Labor has committed to scrap the Federal Government’s so-called medicines tax-copayments”. The story did not make clear that the Labor opposition was opposing the rise in the co-payment, rather than committing to scrap the co-payment altogether.
Dairy Futures
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Landline: In its program on June 27 2016, in a story about the dairy industry, it was stated that "most of Australia's milk is sent overseas in the form of manufactured products like cheese and milk powder." This is incorrect. In fact, most of Australia's milk is consumed domestically. Only around 34 per cent of milk is exported.
Natvia
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News Online: on 13 July, ABC News published an article on Australian research that uncovered new evidence explaining why using artificial sweeteners might lead people to put on weight. The story was accompanied by an image of Natvia natural sweetener. Natvia is a natural sweetener and not an artificial sweetener; it does not contain sucralose and the picture was not appropriate for the story.
