The Australian Press Council has cleared a second contentious Bill Leak cartoon from charges of offensiveness, ruling that his depiction of starving Indians trying to eat solar panels with chutney did not breach standards.

Two months ago the council also chose not to sanction Leak, that time for his Don Dale correctional centre cartoon that depicted an Aboriginal father holding a beer can and telling a police officer he could not remember his son’s name.

In December last year Leak’s solar panels cartoon sparked accusations of racism for its portrayal of Indians and complaints were made to the press council.

Titled “Aid a La Mode” it was Leak’s response to the 2015 UN climate change conference in Paris at which it was decided to send solar panels to India.

Several people in traditional Indian clothing were depicted trying to eat solar panels from a box marked with United Nations logos saying “It’s no good you can’t eat them” and another saying “Hang on, let me try them with a bit of mango chutney”.

An associate professor of sociology at Macquarie University Amanda Wise said it was “unequivocally racist” because it drew on very base stereotypes of third world, underdeveloped people.

Almost a year later the council has completed its adjudication and ruled that the cartoon did not breach its standards of practice and was an example of “drawing on exaggeration and absurdity to make its point”.

“While some readers may have found the cartoon offensive, the council does not consider that the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial offence, distress or prejudice,” the adjudication published on Monday said. Accordingly the council concludes that its standards of practice were not breached.”



The judgment in the Don Dale case – the cartoon was published on 4 August after the Four Corners expose – was much swifter because it did not go to a full adjudication but was settled by mediation.

In the Aboriginal father case the council said its decision was in the interests of a “free and vigorous press” and that publishing two balancing opinion pieces on Indigenous issues in the News Corp daily broadsheet was a more appropriate response.

In the solar panels case the Australian told the press council that it disagreed that the cartoon’s depiction of Indians was substantially offensive or distressing.

“It did not in any way denigrate the intellectual capacity of Indian people, nor their capacity to manage modern life,” the council adjudication said. “Instead, the cartoon denigrates the UN by ridiculing its decision to provide solar panels at the expense of more appropriate aid. It is not an attack on Indians for being poor or uneducated, but an attack on those advocating what the cartoonist considered to be useless aid.

“The publication also said that while the carton may have been offensive to some people, it was nevertheless in the public interest for the cartoon to be published in the wake of the Paris conference.”

In a separate development, Leak and the Australian are being investigated by the Human Rights Commission for breaching section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act for the Don Dale cartoon.

Leak has said he was “bewildered” to be accused of racism as he believes he has always been “colour blind”.

The Australian has published dozens of articles, including supportive comments from John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull defending Leak and calling for 18C to be abolished.