Over at Ærchies Archive a case of sloppy journalism by ABC News Online was uncovered. The offending story is now missing from the ABC website, but a copy can be found along with Ærchies Archive’s blog post “Has The ABC Gone Mad Or Have I?“. For the full details click on his link and read the blog.

But in short, the story in question centred on the impact of the Carbon Price and the ruling by the Australian Competition and Consumer Comission (ACCC) that found refrigeration contractor, Equipserve, had deceitfully increased their per kilo prices by around $300 and blamed it on the Carbon Price, when they were only entitled to a $75 increase on that claim.

This was a good and informative article up until you reached the halfway point and journalist, Will Ockenden, develops amnesia. After exposing Equipserve’s fraudulent practice based on exaggerated claims of cost increases, Ockenden then spends an equal amount of words regurgitating the debunked claims made by The Opposition and the lobby group, Refrigerants Australia, about massive price increases! He just wrote about the ACCC ruling that essentially called it bumpkin, yet goes on to frame the unfounded scaremongering as if it were still legitimate and the fault of the carbon price, not dodgy companies.

No wonder this story can’t be found anymore, it’s embarrassing. Unfortunately with its disappearance, so too does the valuable information about the ACCC’s ruling.

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