The editor at the centre of a faked account of a man entering female change rooms at a public pool being printed in a major Tasmanian newspaper has parted ways with the publication.
Mark Westfield has told the ABC he is no longer the editor of The Examiner newspaper, just days after explaining he did not have time to check the claims made in letters to the paper.
The letter detailed a supposed incident in which a man had started to undress in front of children in the female change rooms at the Launceston aquatic centre.
The Examiner published the controversial letter last week under the headline "Girls getting changed, then in walks a man".
The letter writer said the man was forcibly removed by another patron, and further claimed that staff at the council-run centre did not respond because the person identified as a female.
The text of the letter was re-shared on social media by trans-exclusionary groups and others, garnering tens of thousands of views.
However, Launceston City Council released a statement saying the letter had no basis in fact and that no such incident had occurred at the facility.
'Unfortunately we appear to have been misled'
Responding at the time, Mr Westfield said he was solely responsible for the selection and placement of letters, and that he did not have time to check the claims that were made.
"It seemed to be, obviously, someone very upset about the situation. She wrote about the experience", he said at the time.
"I have to trust my readers. 99.99 per cent of letters I'm pretty confident are correct."
The paper removed the letter from its website within hours of publication.
The following day it published a clarification saying, "unfortunately we appear to have been misled", and that "after inquiries with the letter writer The Examiner has concerns that the letter contained incorrect information".
On Wednesday, when asked by the ABC if he was sacked, had resigned or whether it was a mutual decision, Mark Westfield declined to comment.
He confirmed he was no longer editor, but would not elaborate further.
Mr Westfield was editor at The Examiner — Tasmania's second-largest newspaper, and Australia's third oldest — for just over two months.
Staff at the paper in Launceston heard about the development on Tuesday and were formally told at a meeting on Wednesday morning.
Australian Community Media has been contacted for comment.
Prior to the most recent developments, Mr Westfield wrote on his LinkedIn page "just appointed editor of the newspaper masthead, The Examiner in Launceston, Tassie, where I started my media career in 1971 as a humble copy boy".
"It's been full circle."
He wrote the appointment in January 2023 "came a bit out of the blue".
"It's been a challenge where I've had to employ all of my journalistic instincts developed over a 32-year career in print and TV journalism."
Mr Westfield is a former media adviser to prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, and also worked for failed Liberal candidate Katherine Deves at last year's federal election.
He has also been a senior columnist and business editor at The Australian and had stints at the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Business magazine.
Call for 'acknowledgement of hurt caused'
Mayor Danny Gibson confirmed the council had never received a complaint about a transgender woman using female change rooms.
"Disappointingly, the newspaper made no attempt to check the veracity of the letter with the council," he said.
Councillor Gibson said publication of the letter had resulted in considerable grief and abuse for council staff.
Equality Tasmania believes the newspaper needed to further acknowledge the impact of the false letter.
Equality Tasmania spokesperson Rose Boccalatte said it had caused derogatory social media comments aimed at trans and gender-diverse people.
"It doesn't really matter who the editor of The Examiner is. What matters is that the highest levels of journalistic standards are upheld," she said.
"The impact on trans and gender diverse communities hasn't been acknowledged. This letter caused a lot of hurt, because it was fabricated. That impact is still ongoing.
"What we'd really like to see from The Examiner is an acknowledgement of the hurt caused by the letter. An acknowledgement would be the bare minimum from the hurt that was caused.
"Seeing all the hundreds of comments on social media and on the radio, it's really hurtful to hear what people feel about trans and gender diverse people – that we're not deserving of the same rights. I think that hurt should be acknowledged."
