Victory for journalist

CANBERRA: The Australian Federal Police’s raid on a reporter’s home to identify a source for a news story was “unlawful”, the country’s High Court said yesterday, while declining to order seized material to be destroyed.

The police warrant to search the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst was “invalid” as it misstated the relevant law and failed to specify the offence being investigated, the ruling said.

“The entry, search and seizure which occurred on June 4, 2019 were therefore unlawful,” the court ruled.