CRA CEO Joan Warner to pressure Abbott Govt following royal prank
Commercial Radio Australia has said it will decide “whether any legislative change may be required" if Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) gets its broadcast licence suspended over the ‘royal prank’.
The High Court ruled yesterday that SCA broke the law when its 2DayFM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian posed as the Queen and Prince Charles during a prank call to the Duchess of Cambridge at King Edward VII’s Hospital inLondon in December 2012.
Commercial Radio Australia Chief Executive Joan Warner is concerned by the fact that the High Court sided with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The High Court’s ruling stated that the ACMA "does have power to make an administrative determination that a licensee has committed a criminal offence as a preliminary to taking enforcement action under the Broadcast Services Act".
“It means that the ACMA can now act as police, judge and jury,” said Warner in a statement. “The industry will be studying the ruling and determining what this now means for all broadcasters across the country, and whether any legislative change may be required.”
ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman said the ruling was welcomed by his camp; "It obviously provides clarity regarding the operation of the licence condition that prohibits broadcasters from using their broadcasting service in the commission of an offence," he said in a statement.
Free TV Australia has also taken issue with the ruling; in a statement it called on the Abbott Government to revierw theBroadcasting Services Act."Free TV calls on the government to immediately amend the relevant provisions in the [act] to address the implications of today's findings for the wider industry," its statement read.
SCA has also released a statement, claiming the current broadcasting law in Australia is flawed.
"It is wrong for the broadcasting regulator to be able to itself decide whether a commercial television or radio broadcaster is guilty of committing an offence," SCA said in a statement."This is an important issue for the entire commercial broadcasting industry, which is why Free TV Australia and Commercial Radio Australia sought to intervene in the case. Southern Cross Austereo will join with other broadcasters in seeking to have the law changed as a matter of urgency."
The Court did express that ACMA’s finding for the national networkdoesn’t mean it is “exercising judicial power," however. “This is because, in making such a determination, the authority is not adjudging and punishing criminal guilt,” it stated in its ruling.
Last week both the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police found that the royal prank didn’t breach the NSW Surveillance Devices Act, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Interception Act, "or any other law".
Along with the suspension of SCA's broadcasting licence, the network faces theimposing of additional licence conditions andremedial directions.