Murdoch's Yarra Leader to apologise to SP Cllr Stephen Jolly

Today's Yarra Leader (7th March 2005) has a front page article entitled "City to clear drunks" that says: "Cr Jolly said Stanley St residents were also angry about litter being dumped by people gathering at the corner of Smith and Stanley streets."



These comments were supposedly taken from statements made by Cllr Jolly at last weeks Planning and Community Development meeting.



This slanderous comment is 100% the opposite of the both the views of Stephen Jolly and the Socialist Party and also what was actually said by him at that meeting (or any other time).



Stephen was the only Yarra Councillor invited to speak at the recent Aboriginal rally in Melbourne's CBD on the anniversary of the death of a young man in Redfern one year ago. He and SP have a close relationship with all those who drink and meet on Smith St, not least due to the fact that there are weekly stalls at 12 noon on Saturdays. Over the 22 years of his life in apartheid South Africa, at Woomera in 2001, during the battle to save Northland Secondary College, organising the anti-Hanson rallies in the 1990s and more, Stephen has a been a clear and active anti-racist and socialist.



What actually was happened at the meeting was that Stephen made the point that the lack of recycling facilities made available to Smith St traders led to greater litter than normal blowing down the steep Stanley St, with residents then probably blaming the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who meet in the area.



Yarra Leader journalist Steve Pogonowski has apologised to Stephen Jolly and has confirmed his notes are totally different to what ended up in the article. His editor David Bruce has blamed sub-editors and has confirmed there will be a clear apology in next weeks edition.



At tomorrow night's full Council meeting, Stephen will be taking advantage of his rights under Section 86 of the Yarra City Council Meeting Procedures Local Law (Personal Reflections):

"86. A Councillor or member of Council staff may, at any Council meeting at a time decided by the Chairperson, make a personal explanation for a period not exceeding two minutes on any statement made affecting that Councillor or member of Council staff."



The Governence department of Yarra Council has released an audio tape of Stephen's comments at the Planning and Community Development meeting which are available to anyone who wants to listen. They clearly show that the Yarra Leader misquoted Stephen today.



On the basis of clear assurances from the Yarra Leader as to what they will print next week, Stephen has reserved his right to undertake legal action to defend his good name. However if anyone else attempts to exploit this (at best) error in the Murdoch-owned Yarra Leader, they will face legal action.