Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 12 August Gavin Morris, the ABC's director of news, told the Senate inquiry into media freedom that despite the very welcome decision to abandon the prosecutions of Annika Smethurst and Sam Clarke journalists in Australia can still be prosecuted for doing their jobs, and at least one—Dan Oakes—still faces the very real threat of being charged and sent to prison. Mr Morris said:

Yet Dan's fate remains totally uncertain, with the spectre of criminal charges still hanging over his head for the 'crime' of doing journalism and revealing information that we believe the public has a right to know. A central principle of our democracy is freedom of the press and the public's right to know. Journalists should never face the prospect of being charged or even jailed just for doing their jobs, especially when that job signs a light on serious issues of public interest or holds a government to account or exposes wrongdoing.

As the member for Isaacs, Labor's shadow Attorney-General, has said, both Ms Smethurst and Mr Oakes' stories were undoubtedly in the public interest and all those involved should be applauded for their commitment to informing the public, not be threatened with prosecution and jail.

A strong and independent media is vital to holding governments to account and informing the public. Labor will continue to fight to defend them. I personally will continue to propose that it is past time that Australia had a federal government prepared to meet the challenge of a federal bill of rights so that complex and important national debates can occur within a comprehensive national human rights framework.