Media groups said the court decision upholding the warrants used by the police to raid the ABC offices is another blow to press freedom in Australia.
This statement was originally published on ifj.org on 18 February 2020.
On February 17, Justice Wendy Abraham dismissed the ABC’s legal challenge finding the Australia Federal Police (AFP) complied with the law when issuing the warrant. The ABC’s challenge claimed the warrant was “legally unreasonable” and had no meaningful limitation to what could be searched. The broadcaster also argued Australia’s implied freedom of political communication limited the discretion of police in issuing warrants.
The warrant authorised AFP to seize files from ABC computers regarding a series of 2017 reports known as the Afghan Files based on leaked Department of Defence documents. The raids occurred on June 5, 2019, a day after News Corporation journalist Annika Smethurst’s Canberra home was raided after she reported on a government proposal to give Australia’s cyber spies unprecedented powers. The search was confirmed by the federal police as part of an “investigation into the alleged unauthorised disclosure of national security information”.
MEAA said: “It is clear that the motivation behind these raids is to intimidate journalists and media organisations. The raids have a chilling effect on public interest journalism by demonstrating to whistleblowers that if they reveal wrongdoing, corruption or illegal activities in the public interest, they will be hunted down and prosecuted.”
The IFJ said: “The ruling highlights the excessive power that exists in Australia to limit press freedom. In a democracy that values transparency, the law must protect whistleblowers and public interest journalism.”
