‘Australian Fritzl’ suppression order broken

An Australian newspaper yesterday published the names and details of the father and daughter involved in the Victorian incest scandal.

The Australian newspaper was told it breached suppression orders by the courts and quickly removed the details. The publishing of these details in this publication led to other media outlets using the suppressed information, causing more potential legal problems if the breach is followed up.

This is in some ways similar to the Obama-Kanye incident in my previous post, where the information was spread quickly by people unaware it was off the record.

In this latest case, the man media have dubbed the “Australian Fritzl” fathered four children with his daughter, with DNA tests confirming this.

It has been revealed that authorities were aware of this case, spanning for 30 years beginning when the daughter was 11 years old, which has caused many members of the Australian Govt to call for the sacking of Lisa Neville, the Victorian community services minister.

Ms Neville, the Minister for Community Services, faced calls to step down in Parliament yesterday after it was revealed her department had failed to perform proper police checks and allowed children to live with known sex offenders.

In NZ any victim of a sex crime has automatic suppression applied to their name and any other identifying details, including those of the offender.

Assuming Australia is the same, following traditional Commonwealth law, then any news outlet that published/broadcast this information, even if they were following another, would be in breach of this suppression and this may be considered contempt of court.

Although unfair on the victims (in this case the daughter, her children, and other family members as well) is it fair to withhold information about such an horrific offender?  Does the public have a right to know and protect their communities, or does this just lead to situations like this (another big news story in Australia at the moment).