Press Council sides with politician over ‘Hey Big Spender’ headline, censures Perth Now
News Corp’s Perth Now has been censured by the Australian Press Council over a headline suggesting WA parliament Speaker Michael Sutherland had appropriated funds for personal use.
The article, which was published on June 14, 2014, had the headline: “Hey Big Spender: Speaker happy to charge taxpayers $500 a week for his dining bill – on top of his base salary of $246,000”.
The complainant, Michael Sutherland, claimed the headline unfairly implied he was using taxpayer money for his personal dining expenses and by linking the reference to his salary, it was suggested he was “topping up” his salary with public money.
Sutherland told the Press Council the publication had been provided with the full details of the expenditure by the Speaker’s office but were not included in the article.
