We at The Bunyip take professional journalism seriously and aim to bring you the facts.

However, in our April 1, 2020 edition we failed to meet that expectation.

On page 15 of that edition of The Bunyip we published an article, written by Sam Bradbrook, under the heading "Reardon announces run for Mayor".

The article included a quote from Shaun Reardon which suggested that there was a motion put to the City of Playford Council “to refer the current mayor (Mr Docherty) to ICAC

(Independent Commissioner Against Corruption)".

This statement is false, there was never any such motion put to the Council.

The Bunyip and Sam Bradbrook failed their duty to fact check that Mr Reardon’s quote was truthful and accurate.

We recognise that our readers rely on The Bunyip for news about local government politics.

On this occasion we have let you down by allowing Mr Reardon’s false statement about his political rival to be widely circulated in our newspaper and on our website and social media platforms.

The Bunyip apologises for the hurt and offense caused to Mayor Docherty, and for any damage caused to his personal and professional reputation.

We sincerely regret the inclusion of inaccurate material in our article and offer to Mayor Docherty of the City of Playford our unreserved apology.