Australia's broadcasting watchdog has cleared Channel Seven Sydney over the outing of former New South Wales Transport Minister David Campbell, saying it was in the public interest. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has made the ruling after of complaints about the report last year, which revealed the married man with a family was secretly visiting a gay sex club. Some viewers complained the report was an invasion of Campbell's privacy; however the station argued his behaviour raised questions about his fitness to carry on his public duties – and that keeping such a secret made him vulnerable to blackmail. The Sydney Morning Herald reports the ACMA has found there was an ''identifiable public interest'' in broadcasting the material. ''ACMA also accepts that engaging in covert activity while in a position of public responsibility or administration could make a person vulnerable to being compromised. This would be so even when that secret or activity pertains to something that is not unlawful or criminal,'' reads the decision.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 17th January 2011 - 9:09am