Journos still risk charges

JOURNALISTS raided by the Australian Federal Police have received no assurances they won’t face criminal prosecution for reporting on leaked classified documents.

Media executives raised concerns directly with Attorney-General Christian Porter yesterday regarding the raids and the Government’s proposed inquiry into the effect of police and intelligence agency powers on press freedoms.

“It’s a month tomorrow since those raids and we’re very disappointed that those journalists’ fates still remains unclear,” News Corp executive Campbell Reid told reporters at Parliament House.

Mr Porter declined to give any assurances that News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst or ABC reporters would not face prosecution after being raided last month.

He also indicated the Government would push ahead with an inquiry into how police powers affected a free press, to be conducted by the powerful parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security.

Executives from News Corp, the ABC, Nine, Free TV, SBS and Seven West Media, who flew to Canberra to meet Mr Porter and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher yesterday, raised concerns that the same committee that had approved laws regarding national security and police powers that affected journalists’ ability to report on issues of public interest would be conducting the inquiry.

Media organisations have dismissed the need for an inquiry and have urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to strengthen legal protections for whistleblowers and journalists. They have also called for urgent changes to laws on Freedom of Information, defamation and the right to contest warrants regarding reporters or media organisations.

But ABC managing director David Anderson issued a statement on behalf of the group, saying: “While our strong preference was for immediate action rather than inquiries, we will engage with any processes that seek to address the issues we have raised.”