Free TV urges Broadcasting Act changes

FTA broadcast industry group Free TV Australia has called on the country’s government to amend the Broadcasting Services Act in the wake of a prank call that led to a London nurse’s suicide.

Free TV said the High Court’s ruling that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has the power to determine whether a broadcaster has committed a criminal offence and, therefore, breached its licence condition highlights a “serious flaw in the law.”

The ruling relates to the notorious 2DAY FM prank call in 2012, which saw presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian pose as the Queen and Prince Charles in a telephone call to a London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for severe morning sickness.

The call was transferred to nurse Jacintha Saldhana, who gave information on the Duchess. Saldhana blamed herself for the controversy and took her own life.

The court’s ruling overturns the previous Full Federal Court decision that held the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 did not allow the ACMA to investigate possible criminal offences if they had not been proved in a criminal court.

Free TV said the ruling meant the ACMA “can act as policeman, judge and jury, despite the fact that it is not set up to determine criminal law matters.”

It added: “Free TV calls on the government to immediately amend the relevant provisions in the BSA to address the implications of today’s findings for the wider industry.”