Corrections & Clarifications

News 24: On May 27th the ABC News Channel covered a Referendum 50th Anniversary event live from Melbourne.  The title of the news strap at the bottom of the screen erroneously said “Indigenous Citizenship 50th Anniversary”.  This was incorrect as the referendum proposed “to include Aboriginal people in the census” and “to allow the Commonwealth government to make laws for Aboriginal people”.

ABC News: On April 21 News Digital posted an article referring to "the decision by the Turnbull Government to cut penalty rates for Sunday workers". This was incorrect as the decision to cut rates was made by the Fair Work Commission.

RN Breakfast: During this interview, it was stated that the former Howard government had banned all automatic and semi-automatic weapons. RN Breakfast acknowledges the 1996 National Firearms Agreement banned military style automatic and semi-automatic firearms, while limiting the availability of non-military style semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to primary producers, professional vermin exterminators and a limited class of clay target firearm users.

7pm News: On May 15, 2017, ABC 7pm News (Sydney) broadcast a story concerning allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement relating to the NSW State Branch of the RSL. An image of the Merrylands RSL was used as part of that story. The ABC confirms that there have not been any such allegations levelled against the Merrylands RSL Club or its directors.

7pm News: On April 7 2017, in an ABC News Special on the US missile strikes on Syria, the program introduction stated the strikes were in retaliation to a chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime. The report should have made it clear the chemical weapons attack was widely attributed to the Assad regime based on the weight of evidence, but this was disputed by the regime itself.

7pm News: On March 9 2017, ABC News broadcast a story concerning protests from Victorian taxi drivers over reform plans. The report stated that taxi licences had been bought from the State Government for up to $500,000. This is incorrect. While some taxi licence holders have paid up to $500,000 for their taxi licences that payment was not made to the State Government.

7.30: On 20 March 2017, 7.30 broadcast a story concerning alleged poor working conditions at Aerocare. A worker interviewed for the story, George Orsaris has informed 7.30, and Aerocare has confirmed that Mr Orsaris had not had a shift with the company for nine months prior to his interview for this program and had done less than two months work for the company. He maintains he was, none the less, still on the books and showed 7.30 a current Aerocare security card. The company maintains, therefore, that it was unreasonable to suggest he was risking his job. 7.30 also advises it has confirmed that a worker shown sleeping worker in a luggage container was not an employee of Aerocare.

The Drum: On 28 March 2017, during a panel discussion on same-sex marriage activism questioning the connections between companies supporting same-sex marriage and organizations opposing it, the program included graphics of three ‘tweets’ from Michael Barnett. These questioned the decision by companies and a university, to employ people who hold anti-LGBTI views. The Drum incorrectly drew a connection between the marriage equality debate, and Mr Barnett’s reference to corporate commitments to Pride and Diversity – a national employer support program which campaigns for LGBTI inclusion.

News Breakfast: on 7 March ABC News Breakfast stated that Senator Michaelia Cash missed a deadline to declare the purchase of a property and the mortgage by several months. This is incorrect. An agreement to purchase the property occurred in November 2016, settlement on December 9 and the property was added to Senator Cash’s register of interests on January 21, 2017. The mortgage was added to Senator Cash’s register of interest in February. Senate rules require that any alteration of a Senator’s interest must be registered within 35 days of that alteration occurring.

The Drum: On 10 March, during a discussion of a ‘fake doctor’ who practised in NSW, a program guest stated that the Australian Medical Association (AMA) controls the registration of doctors. This was wrong. The registration process for doctors is overseen by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA)’. 

ABC News: On 6 February, ABC Radio news bulletins incorrectly stated that two thirds of claims of abuse made to the Royal Commission related to the Catholic Church. In fact, in a statement made by Gail Furness SC, Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission:“60% of survivors attending a private session reported abuse in [faith-based] institutions. Of those survivors, nearly two thirds reported abuse in Catholic institutions”.

News 24:  On 1 March on two occasions News 24 reported that the F-35's future 'has been under a cloud since US President Donald Trump cancelled his country's order for the multi-million dollar fighter jet'. This was incorrect. As previously reported Mr Trump didn't cancel orders for the aircraft but rather claimed credit for negotiating a price cut.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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...".

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 34^th 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.

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.

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.