Press Council receives complaint over NT News publication of Nova Peris emails

Updated

The Australian Press Council (APC) has confirmed it received a complaint about News Corp's coverage of explicit emails allegedly written by Labor senator Nova Peris.

The Northern Territory News published emails on Wednesday, saying they were between Senator Peris and Olympic medallist from Trinidad and Tobago, Ato Boldon in 2010.

The report alleged that the emails showed Senator Peris - at the time, an ambassador for Athletics Australia - sought funds from the organisation to help pay for Boldon's trip to Australia, so the pair could pursue a personal relationship.

The paper has defended the story, and argued the emails show questions remain about whether Senator Peris sought taxpayer funds to pursue a personal relationship with Boldon.

The APC today confirmed it had received a complaint but declined to provide any further details.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has questioned whether the story needed to include so much personal detail.

On Thursday Senator Peris denied any wrongdoing and said the release of the emails was part of a blackmail attempt connected to a family dispute.

This morning Mr Turnbull said while he supports press freedom, the published emails were a "pretty distasteful collection of correspondence".

Mr Turnbull, who referred to himself as "an old journalist", said issues of judgment should have been made.

"I just felt that there was perhaps more of the personal in that correspondence that was published than was needed to pursue the public interest question they were raising," Mr Turnbull told ABC News Breakfast.

"Journalists and editors have to exercise a degree of discretion.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Nova Peris addresses the Senate (ABC News)

"I wonder whether it mightn't have been better to perhaps be more discriminating in what material was made public there."

When asked if he believed the NT News should not have published the clearly private emails, Mr Turnbull referred to the legal issues involved.

"It sounds like the NT News has got themselves in the middle of a private legal dispute," Mr Turnbull said.

"Perhaps I will leave it there."

Ms Peris yesterday revealed she was involved in a private family dispute involving child custody and a financial estate.

She believes the leaked emails were linked to the case.

"The release and publication of those emails is an attempt to extract money and embarrass me and my family," Senator Peris said.

She told the Senate that the NT News was "well aware" the emails were part of a long-running family dispute "ahead of its publication".

No-one from the NT News was available for an interview but the newspaper issued a statement defending its actions.

"During the course of our investigation which was conducted over several months, the NT News was made aware of details of a family dispute involving Senator Peris," the statement said.

"We chose not to disclose those details in our reports because there was no public interest in doing so.

"The public does have a right to know how taxpayers' funds were used and potentially misused."

Fairfax columnist and former presenter of ABC's Media Watch Jonathan Holmes said the decision by NT News to publish the emails was justified.

"There is a pretty strong public interest justification for what they've done, just as there was for what New Matilda did in publishing the private emails of Professor Barry Spurr," Mr Holmes said.

"I don't think it would be logical, frankly, to say one is justified and the other isn't, because there is a strong public interest case in both of those.

"Very often there is ulterior motives on the part of the whistleblower or the person leaking or whatever.

"Sometimes that's a personal reason, but if you're satisfied that the documents are genuine, then really the motive of whoever supplied them to you is beside the point."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he did not want to be drawn into commenting on the situation.

"As a former journalist the last thing I want to do is start pontificating on media standards, perhaps you people can have your own debate among yourselves on media standards," he said.

Topics: federal-government, journalism, print-media, information-and-communication, federal-parliament, parliament, nt, canberra-2600

First posted