SCA takes ACMA to court

The Southern Cross Austereo tussle with ACMA has taken another turn, with SCA taking ACMA to court over the additional condition imposed on 2Day FM, over Kyle Sandilands.

ACMA had ruled that Sandilands comments regarding a female journalist, referring to her as "a piece of shit", amongst other things, were "deeply derogatory and offensive" and a breach of the Commercial Radio codes of practise. 

It subsequently reset the decency requirement in the code to a condition of the 2Day FM license, which in practise means any further breaches could result in the loss of 2Day's license.

SCA has now asked the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to throw out the ruling.

SCA's legal representative, Richard Cobden SC, has said that ACMA had applied the ruling 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a five-year period. SCA have offered instead a revised condition that would apply to the Breakfast program only, and for a period of two years.

SCA CEO Rhys Holleran said outside court that the company considered the extent and duration of the license condition to be unreasonable and an inappropriate response. 

The authority appeared ''to have had little, if any, regard to the unprecedented steps taken by Today FM following the broadcast in November 2011 to prevent unacceptable material being broadcast' ; said Holleran.

The parties will return to court in late July.