Comms Declare has made a second submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications regarding the influence of coal, petrol and gas companies on the media.
It references Comms Declare’s complaint to the ACCC about a week-long pro-gas feature in News Corp mastheads sponsored by gas companies.
It alleges that the gas stories are likely to infringe sections 18 and 29 of the Australian Consumer Law on the following basis:
- The front pages are misleading because they are presented as independent journalism, where in fact they are sponsored by the fossil fuel industry. This is a contravention of ACL sections 18 and 29(g).
- The gas stories are misleading and are greenwashing because they make false, incomplete, and unbalanced claims about the necessity for, and role of, gas supply for Australian domestic energy supply and the transition to renewable energy. This is a contravention of ACL sections 18 and 29(l).