PR firm which released details of Nauru sex assault complainant considering legal action over ‘defamatory’ PRIA statement
Mercer PR, the agency which released the identify of a sexual assault complainant on Nauru, has shot back at claims its behaviour was unethical and has said it is considering its legal position in relation to the “defamatory statement” issued by PRIA on the incident earlier this week.
The agency came under fire after it distributed a release stating a police investigation had found insufficient evidence over serious allegations of a sexual assault made by a female Somali refugee who was previously detained in the Australian-run detention centre on Nauru.
Overnight Mercer PR has released a statement arguing the media report around the release which was sent on behalf of its client, the government of Nauru, were “inaccurate, sensationalised and in the cases of some of the articles talking about our company, puerile”.
“Completely contrary to reports, neither our client or our company has published the name of the person in question,” Mercer PR stated in its release.
I would LOVE to see this PR agency pursue legal action. They will be blown out of the water, and so they should be. How foolish.
The legal definition of publish is that the material is seen or heard by a third person.
The PR firm doesn’t have to set up it’s own letterpress and roll out it’s own news letter before it can publish something. I suspect they haven’t got legal advice.
What was that other bloke saying about PRs being the smartest in the room?
If Lyall Mercer had access to good PR advice, he’d be advised to shut up now.
Obviously this agency isn’t smart enough to hire people with ATAR scores >95