The Australian's campaign's distorting emphasis on Sharia

At no point did the journalist attempt to set the record straight but instead appears to have chosen not to let this pertinent fact of the case get in the way of a good story.

The objections by "senior Muslim leaders" it reported prompted an expected rebuttal from seasoned campaigner Cory Bernardi in a letter to The Australian. The Senator seized the opportunity presented by the newspaper's campaign to warn that "the concerns of many Australians about the dangers of sharia-creep are entirely justified."

One can only presume that when the Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, was co-opted in the third report, the federal member for Gellibrand was merely re-affirming the current position that in the absence of a valid will, Australian law applies. The assets of the deceased person must be distributed according to the succession laws of the states and territories of Australia and not according to any other set of instruments.

The Australian's coverage conveniently neglected to mention that the judgment also included oral evidence from the Imam of the Canberra Islamic Centre who "conceded that if a Muslim person died not having made a will, the division of their estate would be based on the law of the country where they had been living."

I am certain the AG was not proposing, as two of the articles implied, that the laws of succession should be amended to remove the right of a person to freely choose who gets his or her assets after death. You and I are free to determine based on any criteria how to distribute our assets as long as adequate provision is made for dependents. Fortunately the judge in this case, Master David Harper of the ACT Supreme Court left this inalienable right intact.

Journalists have a responsibility to be balanced and unbiased as required by the first article of the Australian Journalists Association's Code of Ethics: "Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis." Editorials and opinion pieces should be left for campaigning in support of a newspaper's ideology and not news reports.