APC Update | Issue 11

The Press Council has established a National Advisory Panel to assist with the conduct of the Council’s wide-ranging Standards Project.

The Standards Project is reviewing the scope and effectiveness of the Standards of Practice with which the Council requires its newspaper, magazine and online publishers to comply. It includes assessing the impact of the current Standards on the practices of print and online publishers and on key aspects of the public interest.

The Panel’s inaugural members are eminent Australians with extensive and high-level experience in public life, including interaction with the media. They are

• Hon. John Doyle AC (recently retired as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia)
• Dr Ken Henry AC (formerly Secretary to the Australian Treasury; currently Executive Chair, ANU Institute of Public Policy)
• Hon. Robert Hill AC (formerly Minister for Defence and Ambassador to the UN; currently Chancellor, University of Adelaide)
• Mr Andrew Murray (formerly Australian Democrat Senator for WA; currently Chair, WA Regional Development Trust)
• Ms Heather Ridout (formerly CEO, AiGroup; currently Board member, Reserve Bank of Australia).

Panel members' advice will be provided on an informal basis.

The National Advisory Panel will be complemented by strengthening the Council’s other consultative processes. These include individual meetings with editors, regular Round Tables around Australia with media representatives and community leaders, and analysis of views expressed in the broader community. A number of senior journalists are also being invited to be general consultants to the Standards Project on an ongoing basis.