Editorial in the Australian that targeted ABC’s Louise Milligan was inaccurate and unfair, press council finds

The Australian Press Council says the Australian newspaper breached three general principles in a 2021 editorial that targeted ABC journalist Louise Milligan. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

An editorial in the Australian newspaper which targeted the ABC journalist Louise Milligan was inaccurate, unfair, lacked balance, caused unnecessary distress and was not in the public interest, the Australian Press Council has found.

The Murdoch broadsheet breached three of the general principles of the regulator when it accused Milligan, a former employee of the newspaper, of “bad, lazy, deceitful journalism” in the 2021 article headlined “Greatest enemy of truth is those who conspire to lie”.