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The Australian will boycott Press Council decisions of ‘political stack’ Carla McGrath

The appointment of left-wing activ­ist group Getup! deputy chair has been panned by politicians and journalists.

MITCHELL BINGEMANN
4 min read
4:55PMJune 02, 2017
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GetUp’s deputy chairwoman Carla McGrath.
GetUp’s deputy chairwoman Carla McGrath.

Politicians and journalists have balked at the appointment of deputy chair of the left-wing activ­ist group Getup! to the Australian Press Council describing it as “curious” and “disastrous”.

The protestations against GetUp! deputy chair Carla McGrath’s appointment to the Press Council came as the newspaper watchdog said she would not serve on any adjudication panel for a period of between 6-12 months.

“It is not anticipated that Ms McGrath will be assigned to adjudicate complaints until early to mid-2018, and all such assignments take into account potential conflict of interest issues,” said a Press Council spokeswoman.

The Australian today led protests against Ms McGrath’s appointment, saying it would not provide testimony and not accept adjudications of complaints by the Press Council in which Ms McGrath, takes part.

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon described her appointment as a “curious” one saying the role of the Press Council was to be a place where those with legitimate grievances with publications could seek resolutions.

“I wonder what would happen if it involves a complaint by GetUp! against The Australian or The Sydney Morning Herald or any other media outlet, what would happen there? Whether she would have to recuse herself? Presumably she would given her involvement in GetUp!,” he said.

“My experience with GetUp! in the not too distance past has been that they seem to be using alternative facts in some of their campaigns. They did put a call out to 62,000 of their members in South Australia to march on my office, I think I got about a dozen people and two donkeys and they got lost on the way.”

Senior journalists across the nation’s wide spectrum of media outlets have also questioned Ms McGrath’s appointment and the perceived conflict of interest it raises.

Ben Cubby, the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald’s Monday-to-Friday print edition took to Twitter to say it seemed “weird that political activists would be appointed to oversee and potentially police the press. Not good.”

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s chief political correspondent, James Massola tweeted: “How can the deputy chair of GetUp, which actively campaigns against one side of politics, be on the Press Council?”

Ben Eltham, the National Affairs Correspondent from the left-leaning independent media outlet New Matilda also took issue with the appointment.

“Disastrous decision. A GetUp campaigner should not be on the Press Council, any more than someone from the IPA,” he wrote on Twitter.

Ms McGrath’s role at GetUp! — an organisation that has in the past raised funds to publicly campaig­n against News Corp Australia publications and mock election coverage from some of the nation’s largest newspapers — has raised serious concerns among editors, who fear they will not be given a fair hearing when complaints are raised about coverage of important public-­interest issues on topics such as climate change and immig­ration.

The Australian’s editor-in-chief, Paul Whittaker, said the APC’s decision to appoint Ms ­McGrath to its board made a “mockery” of its role in independently adjudicating complaints against news organisations.

GetUp! has campaigned strongly against the proposed $16.5 billion Adani coal mine in Queensland and has raised almost $200,000 to attempt to oust Immigration Minister Peter Dutton from his seat of Dickson.

The group has run campaigns aimed at mocking election coverage by newspapers in the News Corp Australia stable. In last year’s federal election, almost four months after Ms McGrath became deputy chairwoman, it ran a fundraising campaign saying it needed “the resources to power a campaign that’s nimble, tested and that can take on the likes of Gina Rinehart and Rupert Murdoch”.

The Press Council appointed Ms McGrath, a social activist who specialises in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and youth affairs, to its board last week despite protests from Press Council members that her role with GetUp! could lead to serious conflicts of interest

The Press Council spokesman said any potential conflicts of interest would be addressed.

“The potential conflict-of-interest issue was canvassed and carefully considered during the appointments process,” the spokesman said. “The kind of council members we want are those who have made an impact through their work and other activities in the community.

“Consequently, potential conflicts can arise in specific circumstances. The council has many years of experience in dealing with this issue, and conflicts are disclosed and managed if and when they arise.”

The spokesman said Ms McGrath was one of more than 20 council members — who include public members, publisher representatives and independent journalists — and was chosen for her “Torres Strait Islander background and younger perspective, as well as experience in corporate governance, which adds to the voices around the table”.

“The Australian Press Council seeks to embrace a wide range of diverse voices and perspectives on its council, including among other things geographical representativeness, age, vocational background and world views,” he said.

“These include, for example, a former state chief justice, a veterinarian, a retired headmaster, News Corp, Fairfax Media and AAP (representatives). As proponents of free speech and press freedom underlying a democratic society, we welcome the contest of ideas in the media, as well as in our own boardroom.”

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/print/the-australian-will-boycott-press-council-decisions-of-political-stack-carla-mcgrath/news-story/e0c0c16e75fae1cec2e52916d2b1ff1b