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Investigation Report No. 3321

File no. ACMA2015/120

Broadcaster Orange Super AM 1089 Pty Ltd

Station 2EL (Radio 2EL)

Type of service Commercial Radio

Name of program Early Morning Breakfast Show

Dates of broadcast 30 and 31 December 2014

Relevant legislation/code

Clause 1.1(e) of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines 2013

Date finalised 29 April 2015

Decision No breach of clause 1.1(e) [proscribed matter]

ACMA Investigation Report – Early Morning Breakfast Show broadcast by 2EL on 30 and 31 December 2014

The complaintIn February 2015, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) commenced an investigation into the program Early Morning Breakfast Show broadcast on 30 and 31 December 2014 by Orange Super AM 1089 Pty Ltd (the licensee).

The complaint is that comments made by the presenter, Grant Goldman, were likely to incite hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule of people from the Islamic religion.

The investigation has considered the licensee’s compliance with clause 1.1(e) of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines 2013 (the Codes).

The programThe Early Morning Breakfast Show is a morning program described by the licensee as follows:

[A] radio program which provides news, information, entertainment and talkback discussion covering a range of news or caller driven topics. The show is hosted by Grant Goldman and broadcast on weekdays between 6am and midday.1

On 30 and 31 December 2014, the program included numerous comments by both the presenter and various callers associated with the issue of Halal certification in Australia. The issue appears to have been originally raised for discussion by a caller and was then subsequently raised numerous times by various other callers and the presenter.

A transcript of the relevant parts of the program referring to Halal certification is at Attachment A.

AssessmentThis investigation is based on submissions from the complainant and the licensee and a copy of the broadcast provided to the ACMA by the licensee. Other sources used have been identified where relevant.

In assessing content against the Codes, the ACMA considers the meaning conveyed by the relevant material. This is assessed according to the understanding of an ‘ordinary reasonable’ listener.

Australian courts have considered an ‘ordinary reasonable’ listener to be:

A person of fair average intelligence, who is neither perverse, nor morbid or suspicious of mind, nor avid for scandal. That person does not live in an ivory tower, but can and does read between the lines in the light of that person’s general knowledge and experience of worldly affairs.2

The ACMA considers the natural, ordinary meaning of the language, context, tenor, tone, and any inferences that may be drawn. In the case of factual material which is presented, the ACMA will also consider relevant omissions (if any).

Once the ACMA has applied this test to ascertain the meaning of the material that was broadcast, it then assesses compliance with the Codes.

1 Licensee’s correspondence to the complainant dated 2 February 2015.2 Amalgamated Television Services Pty Limited v Marsden (1998) 43 NSWLR 158 at pp 164–167.

ACMA Investigation Report – Early Morning Breakfast Show broadcast by 2EL on 30 and 31 December 2014 2

Issue: Proscribed material

Relevant code provision Proscribed Matter

1.1 A licensee must not broadcast a program which in all of the circumstances:

(e) is likely to incite hatred against, or serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, any person or group of persons because of age, ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual preferences, religion, transgender status or disability.

1.2 Nothing in sub-class 1.1 prevents a licensee from broadcasting a program of the kind or kinds referred to in those sub-clauses if the program:

(a) is presented reasonably and in good faith for academic, artistic (including comedy or satire), religious instruction, scientific or research purposes or for any other purposes in the public interest, including discussion or debate about any act or matter.

SubmissionsThe complainant’s submissions are set out at Attachment B.

The licensee’s submissions are set out at Attachment C.

FindingThe licensee did not breach clause 1.1(e) of the Codes.

ReasonsIn determining whether the licensee has breached clause 1.9.6, the ACMA must consider the following:

identification of the relevant person or group and the relevant ground; and

whether the broadcast was likely to incite hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule against the relevant individual/group on that ground.

The talk-back discussion of 30 and 31 December 2014 opened with the presenter’s ‘explanation of Halal’ and the requirements for Halal certification of meat products. His main points concerned the costs to the community of Halal certification, which he described as a Jizya tax or ‘religious tax’, and the method of slaughter of animals which he described as ‘murder’ because the beast’s throat is cut and it is bled to death in pain.

Contributions from callers were broadcast and the presenter referred to off-air emails and telephone discussions which included a call to boycott Halal certified products. The presenter also described Islam as ‘a cult’ not a religion.

The presenter and callers may have misunderstood the nature of Halal slaughter in Australia. The Australian Government Department of Agriculture guidelines for Halal slaughter of livestock which apply to meat produced for export and to Islamic organisations supervising Halal certification, requires that the animal be stunned prior to slaughter. The guidelines state


‘the welfare of the animal takes precedence over any other aspect of the slaughtering process’3.

The characterisation of certification costs as a ‘tax’, and questions as to its legality also appear to be misguided because the costs referred to are not imposed by the government to fund public expenditure. Therefore, the cost of Halal certification is not a tax. Historically, a Jizya tax is a tax levied on non-Muslim subjects in Islamic states whereas Australian abattoirs which comply with the above guidelines for Halal slaughter are operated and regulated under Australian law. Any costs of Halal certification to the community are also likely to be balanced by the benefits from increased exports to countries that have a preference for Halal food.

Relevant person or group of persons and the relevant ground

Given that Halal is a term often used in reference to food that is permissible for Muslims to eat or drink under Islamic law, the ACMA is satisfied that the relevant person or group of persons identified for the purposes of clause 1.1(e) is people who belong to the Islamic religion.

As there were references made by the presenter and callers associating Halal with the Islamic religion and practices, the relevant ground is religion.

Incitement

Incitement or provocation can be achieved through comments made about a person or group; there is no requirement that those comments include a specific call to action. There is no need for proof of intention to incite or that any one was in fact incited.4

The relevant conduct must have the capacity or tendency to incite others, in the sense of urging, promoting the audience to experience the relevant reaction. Conduct that merely conveys a person’s hatred of, intense dislike, serious contempt or severe ridicule towards a person is not unlawful.

There must be something more than an expression of opinion, something that is positively stimulatory of that reaction in others.5

In this case, the ACMA must consider whether the ordinary reasonable listener would have understood that they were being urged, stimulated or encouraged by the content to share or maintain feelings of hatred, contempt or ridicule against Islamic people on the grounds of their religion.

Hatred, serious contempt or severe ridicule

The clause establishes a high threshold test. The words ‘serious’ and ‘severe’ contemplate a very strong reaction to the broadcast material. A breach is not found if the broadcast material induces a mild or even strong response or reaction.

Discussion

3 http://www.agriculture.gov.au/export/food/meat/elmer-3/notices/2009/mn09-08 - accessed 27 April 2015

4 Kazak v John Fairfax Publications [2000] NSWADT 77 at [23-29].5 Trad v Jones & anor (No 3) [2009] NSWADT 318 at [61].


http://www.agriculture.gov.au/export/food/meat/elmer-3/notices/2009/mn09-08

The issue for examination is whether the relevant material was likely, in all the circumstances, to have incited hatred against, or serious contempt for, a person or people on the basis of their identification with, or practise of, the Islamic religion.

The complainant alleges that the presenter’s disparaging references to Halal certification in Australia were designed to enable a broader and more inflammatory denigration of the religion of Islam.

The complainant referred to the following comments made by the presenter:

that animals slaughtered in accordance with the requirements of Halal ‘bleed to death in absolute pain’

that Halal certification is ‘a religious tax’ as companies who obtain Halal certification pass on the added cost to consumers

that if Muslims want to eat Halal food purchased from the supermarket ‘all they’ve got to do is look at the ingredients’

that Islam is ‘not a religion, but a cult’.

The licensee responded to the complainant that the comments made by the presenter were topical of the day, typical of a talk-back program and not likely to incite hatred or serious contempt.

The ACMA notes that as well as comments from the presenter, numerous callers expressed opinions on, and were critical of, Halal certification and related issues.

The ACMA accepts that the presenter and callers expressed a negative or critical view on Halal certification in Australia, companies who provide Halal-certified food in Australia, and the treatment of animals slaughtered in accordance with Halal requirements.

While the program contained strong criticisms of a practice required under Islamic law, the ACMA is of the view that the program contained no language or material that would have been understood by the ordinary reasonable listener as urging, stimulating or encouraging them to share or maintain feelings of hatred or serious contempt towards Muslims, on the grounds of religion.

The majority of comments and negative opinions were associated with the cost of Halal certification being passed on to consumers; the prevalence of Halal-certified product in supermarkets; and the Halal slaughter process; which were considered inhumane.

Although Halal certification relates to foods and products permitted under Islamic law, the discussion did not focus on religious elements. For example, while there was a call to boycott Halal certified food such as Nestle products and vegemite, the audience would recognise that these are not supplied by Islamic groups and that an economic boycott was not a call to violence or action against Islamic people.

Opinions were expressed reflecting a dislike of Halal practices which are a requirement of Islam. However, there was no language engaging the audience to share, or stimulating the audience to, feelings of hatred, contempt or ridicule of people on the grounds of their religion.

Although the program contained criticisms of the costs of Halal certification and methods of slaughter (which may have been misguided) and this discussion continued over two days, the requisite element of provocation or incitement was absent.


While the presenter’s reference to Islam being a ‘cult’ could be considered offensive to some segments of the community, the statement was not an invitation to listeners to hate or hold in serious contempt people who identify with the Islamic religion.

There were also a number of statements from callers and the presenter which balanced or diluted any language that might have been taken to be a prompt to dislike Islamic people because of their religion. The presenter expressed the thought it was ‘fair enough’ when a Muslim caller asserted his right (off-the-air) to have Halal food because of his beliefs, and he also referred to having Muslim friends.

It is also noted that the program contained a range of opinions on the issue of Halal certification, including a caller who questioned why people were not objecting in the same manner to food being marked Kosher; a caller who asserted that the Halal method of preparing meat in an abattoir saves money rather than costs money; and several references by the presenter to off-the-air comments from a Muslim asserting his right to eat Halal food. The inclusion of a range of views further mitigated the impact of the content.

These comments contributed to creating an overall impression for the listener that the presenter’s criticisms were related to Halal certification and his understanding of the slaughter process, rather than relating to a certain person or group of people on the grounds of their religion.

In this context the ordinary reasonable listener would have understood that any calls to share negative attitudes towards Islamic people over Halal certification were on grounds other than religion.

In any event the clause establishes a high threshold for the proscribed material. To the extent that any negative feelings were aroused towards Islamic people on the basis of their religion, such expressions did not reach the high threshold of hatred, serious dislike, or severe ridicule (emphasis added).

Accordingly, the licensee did not breach clause 1.1(e) of the Codes.

The ACMA notes the licensee’s submission that it is the nature of talk-back programs to initiate debate and encourage callers to express their own opinion along with the presenter. The discussions of Halal certification took place within the broader context of several hours of talk-back discussion about a wide variety of unrelated topics, and also in the context of a much broader debate in the community over Halal certification which has culminated in controversial proposals by a Member of Parliament to reform Halal labelling laws6.

To the extent that any feelings of hatred, contempt or ridicule were aroused by the presenter’s and callers’ comments, the ACMA accepts that debate on the subject matter was justified in the public interest pursuant to clause 1.2(a) of the Codes.

6 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/senior-rabbi-moshe-gutnick-says-antihalal-campaign-ignorant-and-prejudiced-20150425-1mrkig.html - accessed 27 April 2015


http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/senior-rabbi-moshe-gutnick-says-antihalal-campaign-ignorant-and-prejudiced-20150425-1mrkig.html

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/senior-rabbi-moshe-gutnick-says-antihalal-campaign-ignorant-and-prejudiced-20150425-1mrkig.html

Attachment A

Relevant excerpts of the transcript

30 December 2014

[…]

Grand Goldman (Presenter): We go to [S] in Bathurst, Good Morning [S].

S: Good Morning Grant, I feel that new year is such a shemozzle, all you have to do is flip-out your old calendar and turn the page. We don’t need all the hullabaloo of celebrating. Now, I’m asking you please Grant, can you explain clearly, because I am writing letters to the pollies to have it removed, can you explain Halal?

PRESENTER: Can I explain Halal?

S: Yes. Who is the corporation? Where are they? And how much money do they make?

PRESENTER: Well look, okay, I know for a fact many Australian food manufactures seek Halal certification of their facilities, right, and their processes in order to label their products as Halal and this is to ensure they’re able to be enjoyed by Muslim consumers particularly overseas because there are big markets. And I’ll give you two of them: Malaysia and Indonesia. Now I know in the same way that food labelled as vegan or gluten free is suitable for consumption by a broad range of consumers, for a product to be Halal, it must be as a whole and in part free from any substance taken or extracted from a Haram animal or ingredient and that would mean pigs, dogs, carnivorous animals, animals not slaughtered in compliance with Islamic rights. You understand that much?

S: Yes, yes.

PRESENTER: So, and also made, processed, manufactured and/or stored by using utensils, equipment and/or machinery that has been cleaned according to Islamic Law, and not cleaned with alcohol, etcetera. So, there’s a lot of things they have to do to get the Halal certification.

S: What’s that?

PRESENTER: There’s a lot of things they have to do to gain the Halal certification.

S: And who pays the money?

PRESENTER: Well we do eventually.

S: How come?

PRESENTER: Well because, I mean, if they, if you’re in business, and you’ve got this extra tax, and that’s what it is, that’s worth billions and billions of dollars to Islamic councils all over the world, billions and billions of dollars, then they’re going to pass that onto you and me in increased prices, aren’t they?

S: Well that’s quite ridiculous. How do we stop all this?

PRESENTER: Well it is a good question, how do we stop it? It is a recent phenomenon and in my humble opinion Halal certification is a scam, and it’s a scam to make a lot of money. In the old days, if you were Muslim you simply went to the supermarket and you looked at the


ingredients on the back of the packet and said ‘oh good I can have this’. Now they’ve found a way to make money out of it. Halal certification. And it is interesting a lot of companies in Australia are asking for the certification because they like to get into the export markets particularly to the countries I mentioned, maybe even to the Middle East as well as Indonesia and Malaysia.

S: I’ve got it, yeah, thank you so much.

PRESENTER: Alright darling thank you bye-bye. Yeah we are being told bodies such as the Islamic Coordinating Council and what’s the other mob? The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, charge fees for checking the products don’t contain alcohol or that any meat used comes from animals properly slaughtered and they are slaughtered in the most horrendous way. And that’s another part that I don’t like. Oh yeah, bleed to death, in absolute pain. They don’t care, it’s believed that AFIC, the nation’s peak Muslim body earns up to one million dollars a year from Halal certification. I have it as far more than that.

[…]

X: Now, as far as Halal is concerned, if someone is imposing an illegal tax, wouldn’t they be breaking the law?

PRESENTER: What is this tax that the Jihadists are calling when they get to Christians and say you pay a Jizyah tax, and we’ll let you go or otherwise convert to Islam? I think it is Jizyah, something like that. So in other words, if you think about it, the cost passed onto us because of the Halal certification. they say is not much, I know for a fact some companies are paying huge amounts, and they’re passing it onto us. That’s a form of that Jizyah tax, that we’re paying to the Muslims. And I’m sorry I don’t want to do it.

X: Well like I said, if it is against the law to impose a tax illegally, where’s the law stand in all this?

PRESENTER: Yeah, and by the way I also don’t want Halal food in my kitchen, if you don’t mind.

X: Well neither do I because I see it as a form of conveyancing financing to these groups.

PRESENTER: And I would suggest there’s people in the Islamic world who would get a little bit of satisfaction knowing that Christian people like you and I are eating Halal certified food.

X: Yes exactly.

PRESENTER: I can guarantee that. Well I’ve got something for them. Guess what, a Christian blessing when we say grace at dinner time I believe can override the Halal certification anyway. There you go. Like that or lump it. Thank you for calling.

[…]

PRESENTER: Let’s go to the phones again, I think [C] in Foster there, morning [C]? Morning Clare?

C: Good morning how are you?

PRESENTER: Very good.


C: I’m just ringing about the Halal certified meat. My brother-in-law turned up with some for us at Christmas, and my family could barely eat it. Because we are so cranky, exactly with what you were saying, we feel we in Australia we should not have to eat it.

PRESENTER: Well number one, I don’t like the fact that it’s bringing religion into what I’m eating, but I think the main thing is I’m a lover of animals, I love animals, even though I come from the land where we killed animals but it’s this Halal way of killing, is dreadful, the beast itself is in absolute pain as it bleeds to death and it is something that should not be practiced.

C: No and I believe that a Muslim person actually has to do the kill, so isn’t that taking Australian peoples jobs? Should we not be able to say that we want a Christian abattoir where only Christians can work? Like, one day Australia needs to stand up and fight for… like, we are too easy-going.

PRESENTER: We’re not, we’ve dropped our trousers and we’ve bent over in all honesty.

C: We just let things go all… my husband and I are so cranky.

PRESENTER: I’m getting cranky lately too, because I’m finding that people say, well, why do you have to go on about that Grant? Who cares, it doesn’t matter. And I said, that’s the attitude that they love.

C: When we have been taken over we can all look at our lazy attitudes. We have a local pub that actually advertises that they serve that, and I rang the pub and asked why and they couldn’t give me an answer.

PRESENTER: Or they are not prepared to give you an answer, that’s why.

C: No, so we just won’t go to that pub anymore.

PRESENTER: That’s fair enough, got to leave it there, thank you for your call this morning.

[…]

PRESENTER: [J]’s there, Morning [J]. Hello, I can hardly hear you [J].

J: Hello, with that Halal, there is a Facebook page that has a boycott, and they’re sending a petition to the Prime Minister.

PRESENTER: Okay I can hardly hear you, your phone line is really very low. That Facebook page, yes I’ve seen that one, Boycott Halal. There’s a growing resentment for the Halal situation in Australia. Look companies in Australia, Australian companies, have asked for Halal certification so they can export without any worries whatsoever to Islamic countries. And we talk about Indonesia, we talk about Malaysia and the Middle East, if you want to go that far and they’re very big markets, and a market you’d want to be part of. It is very interesting to me that we have the Halal in Australia as well. We don’t have to. Sure do it for the Islamic countries but don’t do it here and why should people have to pay for it, for Halal certification. Why should the companies pay these big amounts of money for it. Because after a while that cost would have to be passed on to you and me.

[…]

PRESENTER: Inverell, [E]’s there, morning [E].

E: Yes good morning. Yes I’m on about his Halal symbol, it all seemed to start with Vegemite, and if one looks next to that symbol we also have a Kosher sign, now I agree with you, I don’t


need to mix religion and food together, but we certainly haven’t objected, have we, to food being marked Kosher?

PRESENTER: Ah, I think we should too. Having said that, I know that the money paid to be Kosher certified is way short of what the money they’re charging for the Halal certification.

E: Yeah well I’m a bit ignorant on both of those.

PRESENTER: I’m of the belief that we shouldn’t be paying anything.

E: What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

PRESENTER: What I believe is that we shouldn’t be paying anything to either of them.

E: No I agree with you. I don’t think it is necessary.

PRESENTER: I said earlier, I have Muslim friends, remember going to the supermarket, I’ll tell you where, in Inala in Brisbane, and at the supermarket they were going over the… because there was no Halal certification back in the 70’s, right? All they did was look at the ingredients and they’d say, ‘okay we can have this’.

E: It’s their responsibility. Isn’t it? To check it themselves. The same as peanuts, I mean this nonsense of having to check every single thing you put in a child’s lunch in case, someone’s been next to peanuts.

PRESENTER: Yeah to the point where there might be one child in a class that has a peanut allergy so no other kid’s allowed to anything associated with peanuts.

E: I know, I’m a grandma, and try packing a lunch and getting it right. It’s very hard.

PRESENTER: You’re a good grandma then.

E: I try to be. I try to be.

PRESENTER: Now listen in the old days, we used to, see these days they’ve got these great Tupperware things, and Tupperware has improved out of sight, they’re just beautifully sealed and keeps everything fresh. But I remember the old days, a paper bag and you’d open it up and there’d be a dried old Vegemite sandwich and the banana’d be all black.

E: Without a Halal symbol on it. You ate what you were given and that was it.

PRESENTER: Oh yeah you didn’t complain, did you?

E: Oh no, I’ve got to put, in my grandchildren’s’ lunch box, of course it is a bit warm, I have to put one of those freezery-box things down the bottom to keep it cool enough, oh, the instructions are unbelievable. Yeah, but it’s all what you do.

PRESENTER: Yep, I believe that the campaign at the moment to get rid of Halal certification is right for this country. We don’t need it and if the Muslims want to eat Halal food all they’ve got to do is look at the ingredients. It’s that simple.

[…]

PRESENTER: Let’s go to [M] in Beverly Hills, good morning [M].

M: Yes, good morning Grant, I’m a first time caller so it’s really good to be able to get on.

PRESENTER: Welcome aboard.


M: Yes, just in relation to your points about Halal, I support, you know, what you’re saying about it, for the fact any tax is bad enough on us, let alone a religious one.

PRESENTER: Because that’s what it is. It’s a religious tax. So if it’s being passed onto us, and I think it would be, that becomes a religious tax on us and that is what I have a problem with.

M: Yes because the thing is with Islam, and this is what a lot of people must understand, it’s not just a religion, this is the point, it’s a total system. It’s a social, educational, military, political, economic and religious complete system. And this is where church and state are one and this is why it does not belong in any free democratic country. And this is how people are being, just you know side tracked when they want to criticise quite legitimately, be called racist. It’s got nothing to do with a race because it’s a system.

PRESENTER: That’s right it’s a system we’re complaining about and it’s got nothing to do with a race, it’s not even racist. Thank you for your call this morning. [S2] says ‘Interesting what [N] mentioned on the food labelling and Halal this morning. I was in contact with my local member regarding the government closing down remittance companies and in his reply it was hinted that these small businesses have been involved in funding terrorism’. In fact I do remember in south-western Sydney wasn’t there a company that was closed down by the government because the money that they were sending overseas didn’t match up with what they actually sent? As he goes on, [S2] says ‘Imagine with the money coming from this source how many guns that would buy’. Well that’s the question I suppose. ‘If the government or banks can try and shut down these small remittance businesses, why are they not doing something about Halal?’ Fair enough.

[…]

PRESENTER: Back to the phones, I think we’ll go to [H], listening in, in Bathurst, morning [H].

H: Good morning Goldie, and have a happy new year and thanks for all your good work through the year.

PRESENTER: Thank you [H] I appreciate your call.

H: That’s alright, now about this Halal, well there used to be Muslim people lived at the back of me, they have gone now, but she wouldn’t go into the butchers to buy a leg of pork but she used to get me to get my friend to get it from the butcher shop.

PRESENTER: Well she wouldn’t have got pork.

H: Yes she used to. You can ring the butcher and ask him.

PRESENTER: So, oo-ah, you were the contributor to her downfall as far as religion is concerned, by eating pork.

H: And she used to tell me to tell the butcher not to, you know how they score the top of the pork, she would say I don’t want it scored, I just wanted it just left the leg of pork. And true as I sit here, I used to get the… she used to get the biggest leg of pork and my friend would bring it here and she would come and get it. But she wouldn’t go in the butcher shop, she said she couldn’t go in the butcher shop to get it.

PRESENTER: Well because it would be all revealed and the butcher would probably be a bit cheeky like all butchers and say how come you’re getting pork?


H: Well my butcher is a cheeky boy but a lovely boy.

PRESENTER: There you go an interesting call, thank you for that.

[…]

PRESENTER: [P]’s called in, has he? Morning [P].

P: Morning, you’re talking about the alal and everything, I eat a lot of that kabab Ali-baba, they are an Australian wide mob.

PRESENTER: That’s right, yeah.

P: They are alal, and you go down there at lunch time mate, and it’s packed. So Australians don’t care about alal really.

PRESENTER: Well it’s Halal. Yeah well that’s generally the case, people say, well I don’t know what you’re going on about. People have said that to me, you know it’s just food. So what if it’s certified as Halal, what does that mean?

P: Well when Julia Gillard stopped that live export there, where the cruelty was shown on the ABC.

PRESENTER: And ruined an industry in the Northern Territory.

P: Well I’m saying you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

PRESENTER: Well it did, it ruined an industry in the Northern Territory. It sent a lot of people to the wall, thanks to Julia Gillard.

P: What, you want to put up with that cruelty, do ya? You just said before about an hour ago about the horrible cruelty that you’re….

PRESENTER: That’s right, there’s a better way around it. I don’t like the Halal way of killing, you know what the biggest problem is why they have live exports into places like Indonesia? A lot of the areas don’t have refrigeration. Which is why we have the live exports. Well maybe it’s in the interests of the farmers to actually provide that refrigeration to those poorer areas in Indonesia. You know a lot of the places where the beasts are killed in Indonesia are owned by Australians, did you know that?

P: Yes I do. And they’re building new abattoirs in… Darwin…

PRESENTER: So with that, we should have the wherewithal to be able to say let’s have a bit of constructive criticism here and make sure it is done the right way.

P: Well it should be processed in Australia, as I said they’re just building as we speak a new abattoir just out of Darwin and no live export should be happening at all. None.

PRESENTER: Oh I disagree. I think live exports are okay as long as they’re killed in a very humane way, unfortunately that is not the case. But it could be changed.

[…]

PRESENTER: [M2] is there, good morning [M2].

M2: Good morning Grant. Merry Christmas. Happy new Year. Three things for your listeners on Halal, first one is that it’s not just Cadbury and nestles foods particularly, it is Dolmio’s spaghetti sauce, Friskies cat food, Johnston and Johnston shampoo and the list goes on and


on and on. Second point, there are two butchers, one in New South Wales, it’s called Mudgee Meats, they have their own abattoirs which is non-Halal, they do not slaughter Halal and they deliver to the door. They do everything except chicken, so they do lamb, beef and pork. The other one is in Victoria and it’s called At the Farm Gate. They also have their own non-Halal abattoir and they also deliver as far north as Newcastle. You only have to place the order with these companies and they will deliver to your door.

PRESENTER: Is that right?

M2: Yep they are fantastic, their meat is beautiful.

PRESENTER: So they are deliberate non-Halal butchers?

M2: Yep. As they say they are the farm.

PRESENTER: And where are they?

M2: One’s at Mudgee and one’s at Lakes Entrance in Victoria.

PRESENTER: What are their names?

M2: The one at Lakes Entrance is called At The Farm Gate and the one at Mudgee is Mudgee Meats.

PRESENTER: I might get onto that At The Farm Gate, thank you for your heads up on that.

[…]

PRESENTER: This one from [J2]. ‘Hi Grant, if people purchase a product with the Halal circle on it call the customer advisory service number listed on the label. It is usually a 1800 number, and tell them you don’t like it, that you are cranky and will not be purchasing any of their products again. Be polite to the person taking your call, they will pass the message onto their marketing team. Everyone should snap into action and phone the food companies. They need to get a call from 20 million people.’ Then of course there was the email before that about apathy.

[…]

31 December 2014

[…]

PRESENTER: Good Morning [M3].

M3: Good morning number one. A very happy and safe new year to you and Justin and all the listeners. And thank you for always taking the calls and giving us our little soap box. What we hear on your program with all the variety you won’t find in the news, and I think some politicians turn the other way rather than talking about the things that matter. You started talking about Halal yesterday. Well it might surprise you, as you know I’m up and down the dial, being blind you learn by listening from others, that was continued on until quarter to twelve on 2GB last night.

PRESENTER: Really?

M3: That’s right and what people didn’t ask is, it is not a million dollar business or a billion, it is a trillion dollar business and I would like to know why the money isn’t put back into this country, if that’s what they want on their…


PRESENTER: More importantly I would like to know where the money goes.

M3: Precisely.

[…]

PRESENTER: Lets go to [C2], morning [C2].

C2: Hello?

PRESENTER: Yes [C2].

C2: Hi. I used to work at an abattoir and used to teach Halal understanding and work with the Halal guys and it doesn’t cost us money, it saves us money, because it means economies of scale. And some of the Halal stuff is things like, meat that is stolen or food that is stolen can’t be Halal, so I’d rather not eat stuff that is stolen, and an animal that’s sick doesn’t fall in the Halal rules.

PRESENTER: I don’t think you’d be eating too much stuff from the supermarkets that would be stolen food.

C2: Exactly, that’s why places like Vegemite can quite happily put Halal on there and someone put a comment in the paper yesterday about I won’t eat…

PRESENTER: Can you speak into the microphone of the telephone, hello?

C2: If I knew where it was I would.

PRESENTER: Oh okay, you don’t know where it is, really?

C2: I’m sorry I’m 50 I’m just… I call myself the techno bimbo.

PRESENTER: The techno bimbo, well I was one of those too and I was able to conquer technology, new technology, which is why I’m still in the job, you’ve got to keep up with things and make it your business to. So what you’re saying is that Halal food doesn’t bother you at all?

C2: Not at all.

PRESENTER: And you think that it actually improves the economy?

C2: It definitely improves the economy because it allows us to sell our stuff to other countries because anything that’s marked as Halal is also Kosher which means it opens it up to Jewish markets.

PRESENTER: I’m not sure whether it becomes Kosher as well, so if it’s marked as Halal you are saying it can be sold as Kosher without the Kosher mark on it?

C2: Yes, no not the Kosher mark but anything that is bought as Halal also falls under Kosher because you’ve got to remember that Christianity and Islam and Judaism are… all come from the same prophet Abraham.

PRESENTER: We talked about this yesterday about Halal food, it’s very important that we get into the markets overseas and there’s a very strong Muslim nation to the north of us, Indonesia, and it’s good to get in to that marketplace, I understand that, but why do we have to have it in Australia is still the question I ask.

[…]


PRESENTER: Send us a message like people have. [T] says, ‘Keep up the good work with Halal food and encourage callers to phone any company who has a product marked Halal certified. I phoned the number on Vegemite, also Nestle, even though it’s called nessels, and told them I would never take any product off a supermarket shelf that they made again. They were apologetic to lose my custom.’ Thank you [T]. Yeah look I’ve had a caller off the air, he wouldn’t come on. He said look it’s my right to have Halal food. You know what my answer to that is? It’s my right not to have it, my right not to have it.

PRESENTER: [H], maybe he’s got it right, he says it’s just a business, in Muslim predominate countries they don’t ask for or require certification and the government bodies only take bribes, what a surprise. In comparison I suppose in Australia ISO 9002 or work place safety. Perhaps so.

[…]

PRESENTER: [S3] in Gympie, morning [S3].

S3: Good morning, first of all, won’t be a pleasant subject but it’s got to be put out there. First of all, all the best new year wishes for you and your family and let’s hope 2015 is a terrific year for you. We love your show.

PRESENTER: Onwards and upwards. Thank you.

S3: Absolutely, it’s terrific. Grant I met a nursing sister during a recent stay in hospital who sells live goats to provide for a ceremony and they’re slaughtered in the back yard in suburbia.

PRESENTER: They sell the goats and they’re actually murdered in the Halal way because I call it murder. Well the way they kill the beast is to bleed it to death, in other words, that animal is in a lot of pain for quite a considerable amount of time, up to 25 minutes.

S3: And this is happening in Brisbane and I assume in other areas in suburbia, in their backyards. One family, the gaps between the fence are a bit wide, and the family next door, kids happened to see that, it was very distressing for them.

PRESENTER: Gee it would be very distressing for a child too wouldn’t it.

S3: Absolutely and I’m wondering, how it’s to do with blessing of the meat, the goat, it’s goat, is strung up and it’s not a pleasant site, but it needs to be brought out there, you know, what can be done about the situation. And, I eat meat myself, and I don’t have a problem with, you know, livestock being shipped over to other countries as long as it is all humane and done correctly.

PRESENTER: But that’s the problem, it’s not.

S3: Well this is in suburban back yards and I don’t know other people are aware of it or have seen it. This lady actually sells the goats to these people and I asked her.

PRESENTER: Because they would be aware they are killed in the Halal way.

S3: Yes, and I am thinking well where are the welfare groups for that because I don’t think that is correct at all.

PRESENTER: Maybe they are too frightened to broach the subject with those people because it’s supposed to be part of their religion.


S3: Yes. Sorry to bring this up. But these things need to be brought to attention.

PRESENTER: Well they need to be brought up, they need to be. That’s right

S3: For sure. Let’s hope in 2015 something can be done about that. You know, I just don’t… I’m such an animal lover and cruelty to animals…

PRESENTER: Just imagine if I have a property and decide to kill in the Halal way, just because I though okay well let’s try it and see how it works. I think I’d be in trouble wouldn’t I?

S3: Yes, that’s my other point. If you or I or whoever that happens in my backyard…

PRESENTER: If I slit the throat of a beast and I was going to prepare it for eating, well, if I did that and allowed an animal to bleed to death in absolute, total agony and pain, I know I would be in trouble so why aren’t they?

S3: That’s exactly my point and I’m hoping in the new year something will be done about that to stop that practice.

PRESENTER: Yeah let’s hope so, I doubt it though unfortunately. You know we have weak people here.

[…]

X: Since I’ve found out about this certification, and I eventually found the young woman who I had put in my other email that I’ve found this website, Facebook website about the Halal.

PRESENTER: Yeah I’ve got that I’ve seen it.

X: Yeah, and so I’ve found that yesterday but she also had an item, there was an item in the Sydney Morning Herald so I thought well you had probably saw that. I just sent the page with the items the actual items, crikey, if you take out all the Halal things there would not be anything left in the supermarket.

PRESENTER: Nothing left to eat.

X: No, and I’m really angry because people don’t seem to be getting the point that all that money we are paying extra and that’s what I refuse, I’m going to start looking and saying look, why is Halal on these items?

PRESENTER: Well it’s done under a shroud of secrecy of course and that’s the problem. Say the meat company in south-eastern Queensland that I spoke to, they pay a huge amount, but they are not allowed to tell me how much. That’s part of the contract. I think we should know.

X: Of course we should. This is the point that people need to put across we are being charged extra because those companies they’re not going to just do that payment without taking it across to their customers.

PRESENTER: So in other words we are paying that Jizyah tax.

X: That’s right.

PRESENTER: You know the Jizyah tax because we’re the infidel we are the Christians you see.

X: I think it stinks Grant and it’s about time… and I am feed up with our politicians with no back bone.


PRESENTER: Well we’ve got plenty of those. Thank you for your call.

[…]

PRESENTER: And the phone has gone nuts again. [O] has phoned in, morning [O].

O: Morning Grant.

PRESENTER: Morning.

O: A happy new year to everyone.

PRESENTER: Same to you.

O: And all your listeners. You’re talking about Halal meat, it’s supposed to be religion, everything in the world, hatred and that is in the name of religion. Our soldiers and everybody else is fighting for the name of religion, for peace. Why do we hear all these cut throat people getting beheaded and young ones going overseas to get killed in the word of Allah, makes them great. Then you hear Halal meat, that’s so cut throat as well and watching a poor animal die. What’s the difference, won’t the government stop it. It’s disgusting.

PRESENTER: Well they don’t seem to want to.

O: Why?

PRESENTER: I don’t know why.

O: Religion, religion I’m sick and tired of this religion, all the wars, the majority of wars have been over bloomin’ religion anyway.

PRESENTER: Well they have. That’s in the past, not in recent times, but certainly in the past and you’ll find of course ISIS that’s really the big problem at the moment, they’re waging war across northern Iraq and now they find themselves throwing into Pakistan, so they are a growing concern, there’s no doubt about that and they are doing it all in the name of religion, a religion that is - I got to tell you maybe unfortunately suffering a backlash.

O: Yeah I heard the Hindus were belting the Christians as well as the Muslims because they’re a minority and they want them to convert to Hinduism. It’s all over religion you know, you’ve got to step your foot down and say enough is enough, Halal, forget it. Why do we need it in this country anyway?

PRESENTER: Okay the Halal food, it must be said to get the Halal certification generally companies that are exporting want to have the Halal certification because they get into big markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, and possibly the Middle East. And it’s in their interests, but my argument is why does it have to be here. And I got that call, as I said before, it is my right to have Halal right, I am Muslim. I said well I’m a Christian it’s my right not to have it.

[…]

PRESENTER: [B]’s there, morning [B].

B: Morning how are you?

PRESENTER: Good [B].

B: You know what they got to do about Isis?

PRESENTER: What they got to do about ISIS?


B: You get a helicopter like Elvis and you fill it with pigs blood and fly over and just cover them with the pigs blood.

PRESENTER: How about bacon hand grenades?

(laughing)

PRESENTER: You reckon that’d do? The pig blood, I can tell you a long story about the pig blood and the pigs and the Middle East, might take a little while to gather the thoughts together. It’s an interesting one.

[…]

PRESENTER: Let’s go to [N], morning [N].

N: Yes I’d like to talk about that Halal symbol too. I consider that to be an indirect tax on all consumers who buy the product and I think it’s…

PRESENTER: Well there are the exporters who say that they’re not passing the costs on but I disbelieve that.

N: I don’t believe it either and that’s why I consider it’s an indirect tax and that would be fine if it was going to benefit the majority, but it doesn’t.

PRESENTER: Well it does go towards the building of mosques and there’s more and more of those in Australia.

N: That’s true, and therefore, it’s discrimination against the majority.

PRESENTER: Yeah.

N: And I think, you know in this country we’re not meant to discriminate.

PRESENTER: Well I think that’s discriminately in the first place and we talked to that lady in Gympie about the goats that have been sacrificed in the Halal way and that really is a horrendous way to die for any animal and yet it’s practised in Australia. My argument is that if I did it or you did it we’d be in trouble.

N: That’s right and I honestly believe that the meat has got tougher and I am beginning to wonder if the meats today that we’re getting are more Halal killed.

PRESENTER: Look I have a farmer, there are still some farmers in the family, they’ve said all along that when a beast knows that it’s about to be killed the, something happens to their flesh.

N: And it gets tough.

PRESENTER: And it gets tough.

N: Absolutely, we used to kill our own years ago.

PRESENTER: And that’s why you stun them very quickly to make sure the flesh is still good. Now if you’re going to kill them slowly then it stands to reason that the flesh would toughen up because of stress.

N: That is exactly right.

PRESENTER: And the stress would cause that, probably the same with us in all honestly.


N: Yes it is, yes. I think that if the Halal symbol, if they want to have that on the food and on products I think that’s fine provided they pay for it.

PRESENTER: Yeah I don’t understand why companies are made to pay it. Many of them pay it willingly by the way it must be pointed out.

N: I know, because they think they are going to sell more products. But I think that if the Muslim religion want that on their products, they should pay the companies. I don’t think the rest of the community should have to support the Muslim religion.

PRESENTER: By the way it’s not a religion, it’s a cult.

N: Yeah, right, well that makes it even worse.

PRESENTER: Thank you for that.

[…]

PRESENTER: [M4] is there, morning [M4].

M4: Hello Grant.

PRESENTER: Yes [M4].

M4: Oh how are you?

PRESENTER: Very good.

M4: Good. Have you ever seen how they kill, I’m a member of the RSPCA and absolutely, I would never eat anything, I just wish there was a law that that was written on food. I will never eat anything that I see that is killed and is killed in such a… they love it, they love it, they poke it in its eye, they stab it, they do it slowly.

PRESENTER: I’ve seen some films where they appear to be enjoying the death of the animal, and I have a big problem with that, that is for sure. But the biggest problem I have is the killing in the Halal way where they cut the throat and allow the animal to die over a long period of time. And that would be an absolute pain.

M4: Grant I will never, I will never eat anything, but I don’t see it on any of the foods, I’ve gone to the supermarket and I think, you know, it should be a law, that should be written on everything because I won’t touch anything.

PRESENTER: Unfortunately just about everything is Halal food now. There is even a well-known Australian cheese brand that actually has the Halal insignia on the inside of the cover.

M4: Oh dear oh dear.

PRESENTER: So in other words they are a little bit embarrassed about it, but quite happy to pay it to be part of those foreign markets.

M4: I think that things are going bad for us Grant because, I don’t know, we’ve got the worst politicians that... politicians we’ve got doesn’t matter what we’ve got they are as weak as water, they don’t give a hoot about it.

PRESENTER: It might be argued they are taking us down the wrong road on several fronts.

M4: Grant they have been doing that for years and I have seen it for years. You know, I mean I’ve heard, I’d say twenty years ago I’ve spoken to a Labor minister a wonderful bloke a nice


bloke and when I asked him about, what is happening to our, all these places closing down. He said oh no, he said this is how it’s going to be. This is what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to give and bring in these other countries into it. You know? And I thought I can’t accept that.

PRESENTER: Well I can’t accept it either, because they are trying to make sure, look the idea of it is probably good to make sure third world countries come up to our level. But in all honesty sometimes it’s to their benefit but not ours.

M4: Grant, I’ll just add this before I go. You talk like this, I think that when I’m gone, I’m in the older bracket. A bit older than you, but I’ve got common sense and I’ve followed politics all my life but I think please god let’s hope that the next generation I talk about it you know the younger generation, you know, you know, you can’t talk like that, no that’s not right, they don’t know, and I think what’s going to happen to Australia, what’s going to happen to it if the next generation roll over and let them take over and that’s the last thing in the world I want, is a Muslim country in a Christian country that was killed by brave Australian men that went overseas and…

PRESENTER: Thank you we’ll leave it there.

[…]

PRESENTER: [M5]’s there, good morning [M5].

M5: Good morning Grant. My thoughts about that. I’ll pass that one onto the younger generation. Yes. I’d like to speak about Halal, Halal, is it? (laughing)

PRESENTER: No Halal, Halal food.

M5: Halal food, now this is the food that, well, Dick Smith warned about this takeover of Australia and we couldn’t afford to really support our own products so they got brought, like Kraft Cheese, like Campbell’s of America, now the whole thing is what America wants America gets and the ports in America if I’m not correct me, if I’m not right correct me, were bought by Arabs, or sold them and allowed them to buy into the ports in America, I don’t know which parts of the United States, but that means everything that goes through that port would have to be Halal blessed, and correct me if I’m wrong, so this is my conspiracy about what’s going wrong, after World War II we signed with this UN that’s situated in New York, so we don’t have much say at all because now the United States has got over one trillion dollars and the rest invested in Australia and when I went to school Darwin was always taught to us as the port basically to the Asian market, I learnt that at school, so why wouldn’t the United States be very interested in getting us away from that Commonwealth which they’ve been undermining now since World War II.

PRESENTER: With a little bit of help from inside this country too, mind you.

M5: Well I think they did say that, in the, oh better not say too much. They did say there were certain plants in the government, not, you know planted by certain people and the thing is that because we don’t know, just in the last government that was in power, they signed hundreds of… I called them secret agreements, because we don’t even know what they signed, they were just signing them like crazy.

PRESENTER: W eventually find out about it with the Secrets Act, I think it’s thirty years, isn’t it?

M5: I don’t think I’ll be here. I hope I… I know, I don’t know…


PRESENTER: I’ll let you know, I’ll contact you through a séance and let you know.

M5: But anyway Grant that’s my conspiracy theory is that it’s to undermine the Commonwealth to make us a state of America so that America has got their big foot in the door of that Asian market. Like I said I learnt at school that Darwin was the port to the Asian market.

PRESENTER: There you go. Thank you for that.

[…]

X: I just want leave you with two thoughts in relation to Halal food and all attempts at Sharia law, just listeners and Australians remember you have a Constitution, section 116, the Commonwealth shall not uphold any religion or the establishment of any religion, any Halal food, any quarantine inspection service of it, any preference towards that is illegal, just challenge it, challenge it at the state election when the politicians stand, challenge it at the federal level.

PRESENTER: The only trouble is, you do challenge it and they just ignore you in the hope that you’ll go away, they only take notice of numbers, and that is why a lot of people have got to get together and say no I don’t want it this is what we don’t want and then you find the politicians are suddenly reactive because they might get voted out.

X: Exactly and that means on the 24th of March this year people of Australia, New South Wales, you have an opportunity. Those who do not defend their rights deserve to lose them. Not my words but the words of someone like, I think it was Benjamin Franklin.

PRESENTER: That is right, that is something to think about this morning. Too many Australians… we’re pretty laid back and nothing really fazes us too much until we’re really effected. And that could be too late couldn’t it. You often hear the line, oh it doesn’t affect me I’ll be fine, just let the politicians play amongst themselves and do what they ever have to but it doesn’t bother me. Well it will eventually.

[…]

X: Ah yes, this Halal, I’ve looked at different things and it doesn’t have on it that it is Halal certified, so how do you know? What is the insignia or the logo?

PRESENTER: Oh well you’ll see it, it is just… you’ll know that it is Halal because it will say so. It does say so on it. And it’s in English as well as Arabic but it’s in English as well.

X: I haven’t seen it written on anything.

PRESENTER: The thing is they keep it so small it looks like a trade mark, but it’s not, it’s telling you it is Halal food. What I’ve learnt in recent times is that often you’ll get something that is Halal certified but there’s no insignia on it so you wouldn’t even know you’re eating Halal food

X: So what are some of the companies that are Halal certified?

PRESENTER: I think you’ll find the majority of them now and that is what people are jumping up and down about, that is what I’m jumping up and down about, like the Muslim that rang earlier, off the air and said, look it’s my right to have halal food because of what I believe in, I say, well fair enough but it is also my right not to have it.


X: Oh right, I know there was a… I think it was a dairy company, I know it was in Melany, I don’t whether it was cheese or what they made but they were approached to be Halal certified and refused. So, I’ve looked but I can’t find it. So it looks like a little trade mark symbol?

PRESENTER: Yeah you’ll see it if you look carefully. It’s very small, generally it is no bigger than a thumbnail.

X: Oh I’ve got a vision problem, I need a magnifying glass

PRESENTER: Me too, take your magnifying glass to Coles or Woolies and just inspect everything alright?

X: Alright.

[…]

X: Now I was just listening to that previous lady and she was wondering how you could find out what was Halal certified. Now I was listening to a radio program last night and there was a person that was speaking about this and the website to go to is called halalchoices.com.au.

PRESENTER: Okay I will try to have a look at that halalchoices.com.au thank you for the heads up.

[…]

PRESENTER: On a serious note, [T] says, please keep up the work about Halal food and encourage callers to phone any company who has a product marked halal certified. I phoned the number on Vegemite, also Nestles, and I told them I would never take any product off a supermarket shelf they made again. They were apologetic to lose my custom. [T]. Yeah I did get a call off the air from a Muslim, he wasn’t rude or anything like that he said basically it’s my right because of my beliefs to have Halal food. And I said but it’s my right not to have it isn’t it? He couldn’t argue with that.

[…]


Attachment B

Submissions from the complainant

In correspondence to the licensee dated 30 December 2014, the complainant submitted the following:

I wish to make a complaint about your radio broadcast by Grant Goldman this morning, in particular regarding Halal Certification.

My complaint is made under section 1.1(e) Commercial Radio Australia Code of Practice & Guidelines.

In his broadcast, Mr Goldman specifically claimed that animals ‘die in absolute pain’ whilst bleeding to death due to being slaughtered in accordance with Halal requirements.

Whilst it is true that there are a small number of abbatoirs in Australia who are licensed to slaughter animals in the manner described by Mr Goldman, the overwhelming majority of animals are not slaughtered in that fashion according to the RSPCA

I believe that Mr Goldman’s comments have the potential to ‘is likely to incite hatred against, or serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, any person or group of persons because of ……. religion ……..’

I believe Mr Goldman has mislead your audience by claiming his objections to Halal certification are based on it being a ‘religious tax’ but in doing so, he made no mention of similar certification requirements arising from Kosher Certification.

Mr Goldman also claimed that is Muslim people need to identify if goods are ‘Halal’, they need only examine the ingredients. This is ignorant & simply not true, as Halal & Kosher Certification are concerned not just with food content & type but very much by the associated processes involved in its creation/preparation.

I would contend that Mr Goldman’s remarks also ignore the positive benefits of Halal & Kosher Certification that accrue to the Australian economy through increased export earnings, as well as the benefits within Australia that such increased sales create in the way of employment.

As the Attorney-General of Australia has already stated, there is no law against ‘bigotry’ & certainly Mr Goldman is not the only bigot on-air in Australia.

Having said that, if Mr Goldman’s comments are to be taken seriously, one would think that they should at least be accurate & balanced. The fact that they are not recognises them for what they are: ignorant, inaccurate & irresponsible.

If Mr Goldman is so concerned about protecting the wellbeing of Australian Society, how come he has nothing to say about the insidious campaign being pursued by Woolworths & Coles to remove product diversity & choice from supermarket shelves through the introduction of their home brands, not only to the detriment of other manufacturers but to Australian producers & the economy as a whole.

And how come Mr Goldman & his ilk have nothing to say about the introduction of ‘self-checkouts’ by the same supermarkets, further depriving employment opportunities for Australians in the name of enhanced profits?


That your radio station condones such second rate broadcast standards renders it unworthy of public support.

In further correspondence to the licensee dated 31 December 2014, the complainant submitted the following:

[…]

Incidentally, I believe that further remarks made by Mr Goldman on this morning’s program represent a further possible breach of section 1.1(e) Commercial Radio Australia Code of Practice & Guidelines, in that he disparaged the religion of Islam by stating that ‘it is not a religion but a cult’, & in doing so his remarks were ‘likely to incite hatred against, or serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, any person or group of persons because of ……. religion ……..’. I would appreciate your adding this item to my original complaint.

[…]

In further correspondence to the licensee dated 10 February 2015, the complainant submitted the following:

Having considered your response to my complaints, I find that I am not able to agree with your contention that Mr Goldman’s comments were essentially focused on the merits of Halal certification.

Quite to the contrary, I believe that a reasonable person listening to Mr Goldman’s comments could conclude, just as I did, that his disparaging references to Halal certification were designed to enable a broader & more inflammatory denigration of the Islamic religion. The emotive, subjective, provocative & selective nature of Mr Goldman’s remarks left little doubt that his intention was to vilify the Islamic faith & by definition, its adherents.

Whilst I note & appreciate your stated action that “steps have been taken to ensure presenters have been made aware of listener sensitivities and the parameters of the Codes”, I believe an independent review & assessment of the matter is warranted in the circumstances.

[…]


Attachment C

Submissions from the licensee

In correspondence to the complainant dated 2 February 2015, the licensee submitted the following:

[…]

It is my view that after careful consideration of the ‘Complaint Details’ provided that the abovementioned Code has not been breached. Let me explain:

Firstly I have listened to the recording of the programs for both 30 and 31 December in full. The Code aims to ensure that commercial radio broadcasters have regard to prevailing community standards in broadcast material, while protecting their right to responsible freedom of speech.

What follows are comments and my findings having regard to not only the Codes but also the nature of the program that is put to air each weekday morning that forms the Grant Goldman Program.

The comments made by Mr Goldman about (in broad terms) Halal certification were, in my view, topical of the day and not inconsistent with some other commentator’s similar comments during a period where many standards are being challenged by many diverse groups within the community. Whilst that comment does not condone the views expressed by Mr Goldman the comments and his actions do not in any way breach the Codes.

Mr Goldman, as you recognise in your complaint, has expressed, what amounts to, a mixture of fact and opinion. You have raised a number of other potentially sensitive community issues in your email which may generate general concern to the community at large – I agree discussion of these issues is no different to the essence of the Halal matter you raise. However the nature of interview and talkback programs must be considered here.

To stress, the nature of the program is such that comments or views expressed by Mr Goldman (and other talk-back presenters) usually initiate debate with listeners via the talk back or feedback nature of the program. Listeners are encouraged to express their own opinion as is Mr Goldman – so long as the Codes are not breached.

None of what was said is, in my view, ‘likely to incite hatred against or serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of,… religion.’

I am of the view, as licensee, no information was misrepresented nor was information presented in a misleading manner.

I have mentioned that, in my view, and after closely reviewing the transcript of the program the Codes have not been breached during the program on 30 and 31 December.

Again while I consider the material that went to air may have been construed as biased, steps have been taken to ensure presenters have been made aware of listener sensitivities and the parameters of the Codes.

Finally I appreciate your concerns in relation to the nature of the material that went to air and as I have stated steps have been taken to address any potentially sensitive issues by the Super Radio Network.


Summary

In summary, whilst I appreciate you raising the issues you have, in the context of the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice I am of the view no breach has occurred in this instance.

[…]


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