Daily Telegraph rapped by Press Council over disability allowance front page
The Daily Telegraph has been rapped by the Press Council over a front page story which unfavourably compared those claiming disability allowance with Australia’s war heroes.
The watchdog said the implication that people receiving the Disability Support Pension (DSP) were bludgers, compared with the bravery of injured soldiers, was offensive, unfair and inaccurate.
Above the headline, ‘Slackers and Slouch Hats’, which appeared in May this year, the newspaper carried two photographs, one showing a queue of people with the strap ‘NSW DSP recipients: 270,415’, and another showing a wounded soldier with the words ‘Nation’s war wounded: 226,016’.
A secondary headline read: “NSW Disability Support Pensioners now outnumber Australia’s total war wounded by more than 44,000”.
The story sparked a wave of complaints, including to the Press Council, with then Disability Commissioner Graham Innes branding it a “low” in Australian journalism.
Media Watch also revealed the photo of the queue was not DSP claimants or even Australians, but Swedish students at the University of Orebro.
The Telegraph defended its front page, saying it did not suggest all DSP recipients are “slackers” or undeserving of assistance, and argued that its editorial made it clear that not all recipients were undeserving.
It said the comparison between DSP recipients and the numbers of war-wounded was valid and fair and a way of stimulating public debate.
The publication also said the photograph of a queue was intended merely to show a large number of people and it had not suggested they had disabilities or were DSP recipients.
But the Press Council ruled the front page material collectively implied that a high proportion of DSP recipients are “slackers” and should not be receiving DSP.
It said the prominently displayed words on the photographs and the stark contrast between the apparently able-bodied people in the queue and the severely wounded soldier led to the implication.
The Council added that the implications of the front page were not adequately dispelled by any of the material that appeared on inside pages and concluded that the Telegraph breached the Standards of Practice.
The Council also said the implication that a high proportion of DSP recipients are “slackers” and should not be receiving DSP was offensive to an extent not justified by the public interest.
Steve Jones
Walkley awarding winning headlines…
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And the punishment is??? Or is it simply a stern talking to from a toothless tiger.
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Not to justify it, but we’re fast heading to 1,000,000 Australians on the disability support pension. When you consider the working population of Australia is 11 million, I’d argue it’s this country’s number one social problem. Again, I do stress, I don’t agree the Tele handled this important issue in an appropriate manner but it is important for media outlets to shine a light on it….
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About time the tele got beaten with its own stick. They have been demonising this group all year. Look for your savings elsewhere and not among the already poor. The tele is not even worthy to be toilet paper.
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A disgusting front page, one of the most shameful episodes in Australian journalistic history. I am boycotting the centenary of Anzac commemorations because of this front page.
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Fast approaching 1,000,000? is it because the Coalition goverment cannot find any jobs or that it’s not supportive of those on DSP Graham during an Austerity driven media/goverment?
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Someone much wiser then me said “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members”.
You may have heard of Mahatma Gandhi. I suggest you take heed of his moral compass.
I would also contend that the incessant drive to part-time workers – thus inflating the ‘working population’ (and in many instances avoiding having to pay the Superannuation Guarantee Levy) – is a larger social problem.
I believe you were describing an economic problem, and that it is incumbent on the government of the day to work on fair and equitable ways of raising more income rather than consigning our weakest to ever more despondent lives in a country of enviable wealth.
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Best thing about that front page splash is the ‘EXCLUSIVE’ tag…
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Disgusting front page headlines but the reality is Australia is very generous with the disability support pension. In many countries, people with a disability are left to beg on the streets as there is no pension to speak of. We live in a very lucky country but soon with our ageing workforce, we wont be able to afford to pay out that pension. Something will have to give – either raise the taxes or tighten up eligibility for it. Either move is not going to be popular. As Graham above has pointed out, the number of people on the disability pension is quite alarming given the number of people in the workforce.
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Sorry Aussie A, how does boycotting the Centenary of Anzac punish Limited News for for the sins of the Terror?
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Talk about a left-wing, greenie, trendoid, land-rights-for-gay-disabled-whales members of the media in this country. “Disgusting” they cry. “Boycott the Tele.”
Point 1: Does the truth hurt?
Point 2: It’s only something to get all hot and bothered about because you didn’t think of it first.
10% of the “workforce” on a disability support pension? Give me a break.
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I wanted to be a journo when I was growing up, but after watching the Telegraph’s blatant abuse of its circulation and its biased and manipulative, one-sided reporting, I am glad I didnt. The only thing I am really sad about is my fellow australians who are blind to this and buy it. I now understand why dud politicians get elected.
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Same reason I left that carreer path Disillusioned. I dont’ think I could look my family in the eye and say I worked for News.
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