SUPPRESSION DEFAMATION DECRYPTION METADATA IMPUNITY THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW THE MEAA REPORT INTO THE STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN AUSTRALIA IN 2019 THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW CONTENTS FOREWORD PAUL MURPHY 3 IN THEIR OWN WORDS 5 THE MEAA REPORT INTO THE STATE OF ATTITUDES ABOUT PRESS FREEDOM PRESS FREEDOM IN RESULTS FROM MEAA’S ANNUAL PRESS FREEDOM SURVEY MARK PHILLIPS 10 AUSTRALIA IN 2019 THE LAW THE YEAR IN AUSTRALIAN MEDIA LAW - PETER BARTLETT & TESS MCGUIRE 12 Written and edited by SHARING ABHORRENT VIOLENT MATERIAL 14 Mike Dobbie SUPPRESSION ORDERS 17 WHY WE COULDN’T TALK ABOUT THE PELL TRIALS - 26 MEAA thanks the MICHAEL DOUGLAS & JASON BOSLAND contributors to this SUPPRESS OR NOT? 28 report: WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION 29 Peter Bartlett THE WHISTLEBLOWER DILEMMA - ANNA LANE & EMILY HOWIE 34 Jason Bosland Michael Douglas DEFAMATION 37 Peter Greste Alexandra Hearne NATIONAL SECURITY Emily Howie JOURNALIST INFORMATION WARRANTS 42 Anna Lane DECRYPTION 45 Tess McGuire ESPIONAGE AND FOREIGN INTERFERENCE 48 Colin Peacock Mark Phillips THE INDUSTRY REDUNDANCIES 50 Design by GENDER 52 Blair Pagan Design CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY 55 120 Edith St, Leichhardt, NSW 2040. DIGITAL PLATFORMS 59 Cover image: GOVERNMENT R.J. Seymour PUBLIC BROADCASTING 62 MEDIA OWNERSHIP 70 MEAA thanks Fairfax ASYLUM SEEKERS 74 Photos for the use of REPORTING DEMOCRACY 76 its images. SAFETY Responsibility for WORKPLACE 78 election comment, IMPUNITY 81 and authorised by: Paul Murphy NINE AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS MURDERED 81 chief executive, THE AMPATUAN MASSACRE OF 32 JOURNALISTS - MIKE DOBBIE 87 Media, Entertainment TACKLING IMPUNITY 92 & Arts Alliance 245 Chalmers Street, THE ASIA-PACIFIC Redfern, NSW 2016 PRESS FREEDOM IN NEW ZEALAND - COLIN PEACOCK 95 PRESS FREEDOM IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC - ALEXANDRA HEARNE 99 THE MEDIA SAFETY AND SOLIDARITY FUND 105 FUTURE A MEDIA FREEDOM ACT - PETER GRESTE 106 THE WAY FORWARD - MIKE DOBBIE 108 REFERENCES 110 2 | 2019 PRESS FREEDOM REPORT as “on-water matters” — refusing to say anything in order to defend national security. And so the public was kept in the dark. What began with a muzzle regarding “on-water matters” soon extended to asylum seeker detention centres on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru. The governments of those countries wouldn’t comment on what took place in the Australian taxpayer- funded centres and new laws were implemented to punish any workers or aid agencies or their contracted organisations from talking openly about what they saw there. Journalists were refused access to the centres and their detained inmates. Some refugees have managed to bypass the bans. MEAA is proud to have worked with Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist and refugee from Iran, who has determinedly produced outstanding and award-winning journalism from Manus. MEAA remains concerned that Behrouz’s courageous reporting, including his recent prize-winning book, places him in danger which is why we are campaigning to #FreeBehrouz so that he can resettle in safety in Australia. MEAA does so with the aim to bring more attention to all who are subject to Australia’s immigration detention regime and ensuring the public’s right to know. Australia’s national security assault on press freedom has also worked to criminalise legitimate journalism in the public interest. The various tranches of national security legislation unleashed by the government in recent years, when applied to journalists and their FOREWORD journalism, clearly have little to do with protecting the nation and more with BY PAUL MURPHY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MEAA making sure the public is kept in the dark. Prison terms for reporting on the he public’s right to know is a key security” but are really designed activities of government agencies and tenet of a healthy, functioning to intimidate the media, hunt for handling certain information are democracy — and it is one of down whistleblowers, and lock-up now enshrined in law. the responsibilities of open and information. We saw it when attempts transparent government. It’s to control asylum seeker boats sailing And journalists’ sources continue to Talso a cornerstone principle of journalism. to Australia, a customs and immigration be targeted. While new laws seek to issue, became militarised as Operation provide some whistleblowers with Increasingly, however, governments Sovereign Borders. protection, and only when placed are denying that essential democratic under certain conditions and in defined ingredient. More and more, they are Suddenly the Navy was conscripted into circumstances, government is also looking to operate in secret, shroud “protecting” our borders from leaking willing to hound whistleblowers in their activities and suppress all the sailing vessels and handfuls of pitiful court. The court actions mounted information about them, discourage refugees fleeing persecution, terror against Witness K and lawyer Bernard freedom of information searches, pursue and war. Immigration officers became Collaery for revealing events that and punish whistleblowers and place black-uniformed troopers in the newly took place 14 years earlier, the threat barriers in the way of journalists seeking named “Border Force”. And even though of 161 years in prison being faced by to tell the truth of what governments the high-ranking Defence Force officer Richard Boyle and the charges against are doing in our name. held regular press conferences, little former Defence Force lawyer David was ever said because the militarisation McBride all demonstrate that even when In Australia, waves of new laws are of immigration activities meant the whistleblowers have told their stories to passed in the name of “national military could simply cloak everything journalists and the public finally learns 2019 PRESS FREEDOM REPORT | 3 THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW the truth, the truth tellers will still be The past year has also seen the murder failure of successive governments pursued and punished. of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the and police to fully investigate these Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul. The murders and to bring those responsible Meanwhile, the government continues brutality of the killing and the failure of to justice is damning. to equip itself with new weapons in the governments to react (claiming that their attack on whistleblowers. Having used trade deals with the Riyadh regime are There has been some good news on the metadata laws to capture everyone’s worth more than a journalist’s life) prove several long-standing press freedom telecommunications data, Journalist that governments continue to provide issues. Information Warrants allow at least 21 impunity for the killing of journalists. government agencies to secretly access In our courts, the principle of open journalists’ and media organisations’ The relentless harassment of Filipino justice is trampled on as jurisdictions data for the stated purpose of editor Maria Ressa, a Time magazine across the country issue a barrage identifying a journalist’s confidential person of the year; Myanmar’s of suppression orders. However, the source — thus placing the journalist imprisonment of two Reuters George Pell trials highlighted the in breach of their ethical obligation to correspondents for investigating a suppression order issue — both for protect the source’s identity. massacre of Rohingya men; the jailing why orders are sometimes needed and of 68 journalists in Turkey and 47 in also why many judges are misusing The government has now embarked China — all these are indicators that the system either to punish the media on new laws to decrypt encrypted show that governments will do almost or to placate the powerful — many communications. Again, the claim is anything to muzzle the media. orders are simply nonsensical and made that this is in the name of national poorly defined. MEAA has long called security but the government’s powers Closer to home, the trolling, abuse for suppression orders to be reformed could put journalists at risk should and harassment of journalists online and the Vincent Review of Victoria’s sensitive, and potentially damaging, continues to be a concern. Journalists problems and recommendations for information land in their hands. are increasingly required to maintain solutions points the way. The backdoor mechanism to break an online social media presence to, in encrypted communications weakens part, promote their own work and that MEAA has long campaigned for reform the overarching system of encryption, of their colleagues and employers. Too of the uniform defamation law regime. creating a loophole that could easily be often, the response from others is hate It is finally being reviewed after more targeted by hackers and online criminals, speech and threats of violence. More than 13 years of bloated damages. and risk the safety of journalists. needs to be done to ensure the laws Powerful people launch defamation that should protect people from being actions and win enormous payouts The hasty response to the Christchurch menaced or harassed by someone without having to demonstrate shooting also demonstrates the using the internet or telephone are they actually have a reputation, let government’s ill-thought-through fully enforced. alone one that has been damaged. use of badly drafted legislation. The The review has raised the question Criminal Code Amendment (Sharing of This issue, together with the case of whether corporations should be Abhorrent Violent Material) Bill 2019 of a former Age journalist being allowed to sue — MEAA argues that has led to concerns about the lack of awarded $180,000 in damages for handing over this kind of power to defences for individuals who may be post-traumatic stress, anxiety and wealthy businesses will only further whistleblowers or media companies who depression, also signal that media erode the public’s right to know. are publishing atrocities that they are employers must do much more to look trying to draw to the world’s attention. after the welfare, health and safety of There are welcome discussions taking The law means whistleblowers may no their journalist employees.