Media united at press freedom summit

CANBERRA’S increasing culture of secrecy has been called out at a press freedom summit in Sydney, with News Corp Group Executive Campbell Reid slamming the Government for only appearing to believe in freedom of speech “when it’s an away game”.

Responding to Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s comments yesterday in support of writer Yang Heng-jun, who has been detained on espionage charges, Mr Reid asked: “Why is press freedom important to our Prime Minister in China, and not important in Australia?” The summit was convened by the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF), partly in response to the AFP raids on ABC offices and the home of News Corp political reporter Annika Smethurst in June, with ABC Chair Ita Buttrose noting that the raids had had the surprising effect of bring-ing the national broadcaster and News Corp together.

Mr Reid said “contested warrants” were at the top of the group’s list of demands.

“We want the right to argue, if our journalists or the ABC are to be investigated ... we want to be in front of a judge saying we don’t think this is right,” he said.

Ms Buttrose said the ABC had “already lost a couple of stories because whistleblowers have withdrawn” in the wake of the raids.

The purpose of the raids was to “put terror into whistleblowers,” she said. Mr Reid concurred. “The motivation (behind the raids) is to intimidate not the reporter or the news organisation, but those people who might dare to speak (to the media),” he said.

The AJF has proposed a Media Freedom Act to enshrine press freedom and protect journalists doing legitimate work.

It also notes that Australia has now fallen out of the top 20 nations on the World Press Freedom Index.

Ms Buttrose said a bipartisan approach was necessary for reform: “We won’t get anywhere if we don’t get everyone on board,” she said.

AJF director Peter Greste said Government representatives had declined to attend the summit despite requests.