Papers debtors warned

Andrew Mathieson
A PORTARLINGTON community newsletter has threatened to shame advertisers who have left bills unpaid for months.
The Port Report has told readers it is considering “publishing names of individuals and businesses and the amounts they owe” until debts are settled.
The threat has alarmed residents and traders at Portarlington.
A resident, who did not want to be identified, said the warning had been labelled in the town as “blackmail” and an infringement on business privacy rights.
Newsletter secretary Steve Cozens said The Port Report’s committee also intended to employ a debt collector to retrieve overdue accounts in the “thousands” of dollars after a small number of local businesses had ignored requests to pay up.
Mr Cozens said the debtors had forced the committee’s hand.
“We have taken legal advice that, providing what we put in print is true, we can print whatever we like,” Mr Cozens said.
“It’s no more of a threat than a company or a business with a summon threat final notice.
“We just intend to take a particular course of action and we were advised to do that before we do (print names).”
The Port Report is a not for profit monthly publication with a circulation of around 2000. Volunteers run the paper on revenue from local businesses.
The Port Report says it aims to “report events in a factual and positive way, and on matters of public interest and concern” while seeking to “support and promote local business”.
Mr Cozens said overdue accounts were also threatening the “marginal” viability of the town’s only newsletter.
“I mean we’re forced to do this what more can we do?” he said.
“We can’t keep running at a loss. We have a lot of advertisers who refuse to pay but they get advertising and the benefits of it.”
Mr Cozens said he did not fear a backlash from Portarlington businesses over the threat to name debtors.