The Public Relations Institute has found that a campaign for state-owned Timberlands West Coast before the 1999 election breached its code of professional practice "in at least one respect."
Yesterday, two consultants from Weber Shandwick Worldwide resigned from the institute in anger at the finding, even though most of the complaintsagainst them were dismissed.
The institute imposed no penalty on Klaus Sorensen and Rob McGregor, saying they had already suffered extensive negative publicity as a result of the allegations, most of which had not been substantiated, and had incurred substantial legal costs.
Nicky Hager, whose book Secrets and Lies detailed the Timberlands campaign, said legal tactics had prevented most of the complaint being heard.
He said the institute had judged it was unethical for Shandwick to pay someone to infiltrate environmental groups who were "tree-sitting" in Timberlands' native forests.
