Ita Buttrose says media raids have tarnished Australia's reputation
A series of raids on journalists by the Australian Federal Police has tarnished Australia’s standing on the world stage, the chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose says.
“The AFP actions have not gone unnoticed overseas,” the former editor said. “In the days following the raids the New York Times decreed that Australia may well be the world’s most secretive democracy.
“No other developed democracy holds as tight to its secrets,” wrote the New York Times. “The raids are just the latest example of how far the country’s conservative government will go to scare officials and reporters into submission.”
The AFP raided the public broadcaster in June over its 2017 reporting into the clandestine operations of Australian special forces in Afghanistan, badged as “The Afghan files”.
The previous day the AFP had raided the home of the News Corp political editor, Annika Smethurst, over articles she wrote in 2018 on proposals to expand Australia’s domestic surveillance capabilities.
Buttrose told the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties that the raids on News Corp and the ABC had brought the two traditional media rivals together and galvanised the wider Australian media “in vociferous opposition” to the AFP’s actions.
“Who would have thought it possible?” she said on Tuesday evening at the council’s annual dinner.
Buttrose has been a strong voice in defence of the ABC’s journalism since her appointment in February, five months after the resignation of her predecessor Justin Milne.
The former Australian of the Year and magazine editor rejected some commentators’ views that the public didn’t care about press freedom, whistleblowers and the public’s right to know.
“I believe there is a much bigger feeling of disquiet among many Australians about the stifling of the media and the threats against whistleblowers,” she said. “Many Australians were deeply shocked and disturbed at the AFP raid on the ABC.
“The ABC’s supporters, viewers and listeners never should be underestimated. They understand that we are not seeking for anyone to be above the law but that no one in a democracy should be above scrutiny.”
A recent Essential poll showed that three-quarters of Australians are concerned about federal police raids on journalists and the scale of requests for telecommunications data.
Buttrose said the belief that Australia has a free press had been “shaken to the core” recently and the Right to Know Media Coalition is working hard to convince the government that immediate law reform is vital to an independent and effective media.
Two parliamentary inquiries had already been initiated as a result of the raids but we have to keep the pressure up, she said.
The investigation into the leaked material is ongoing and the AFP has not ruled out attempting to prosecute Smethurst.