Indigenous crime rate claims see Cairns station breach radio code
Cairns radio station 4CA breached factual accuracy clauses of the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice when one of its presenters said on air that crime rates in Aboriginal communities in Cape York were “30 times greater than ours”.
The comments were made by John MacKenzie on the Morning Show program of December 3 last year, during a discussion with the Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works, about new rules due to come into effect around Public Housing.
MacKenzie’s comments was about the issue of public housing and new rules which were due to come into effect in 2014 restricting the amount of time a tenant can spend away from their public housing residence.
During the discussion, MacKenzie said: “…we’ve had an influx of people from the communities, thanks largely to the alcohol management plans, but other reasons as well, we’ve had an influx of people coming here for the party and bringing their staggering crime rates from the communities, 30 times greater than ours…”
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found the licensee, Cairns Broadcasting, was unable to prove the program had used reasonable efforts to ensure the statement was reasonably supportable as being accurate, meaning the licensee had breached clause 2.2 of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice.
The licensee, in response to the breach finding, undertook to counsel the presenter with the ACMA accepting this response. As it was the licensee’s first breach in six years, the ACMA has not taken any further action.
Miranda Ward
Linkedin