Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'd also like to speak on this report. This was an important inquiry. It was far-reaching and looked at the current state and future of public interest journalism in Australia at a time when we know that trust and public belief in politics, in our politicians, in our public institutions—indeed in big business and even our major banks—is so low. We need, more than ever, a robust and well-supported public interest journalism sector.

What is very clear from this inquiry is that journalism in this country is under immense pressure. Some of the figures that we got as a committee were very stark. In March last year the committee was told that at least 2,500 journalist jobs had been lost across the country in the past six years. That is, of course, a number that has got worse in the last 12 months. We know that there have been job losses at Fairfax. There have been job losses at News Corp and a myriad of other media outfits and organisations. Senator Bilyk mentioned that Australia's only children's newspaper, Crinkling News, is having to close its doors because it just can't manage to pay the bills and produce good quality journalism for Australia's children.

We're at a crisis point in Australia when it comes to public interest journalism. We need it more than ever, and yet it has less support. This report and this inquiry tried to outline a number of different things and looked at a number of different ways that we could support public interest journalism in Australia to recognise the crucial role that it plays in our community, our news and our democracy. If the public are disillusioned with politicians and politics, if they don't believe that we are acting in their best interests and if they don't have access to information about what their democratic rights are, what their parliament is doing and what their elected officials are doing, that discontent is only going to grow. I would put to you that, at this moment, when trust and belief in politics is so low, the best thing that we could all be doing is actually supporting one of those institutions that the public so desperately wants to be able to rely on. Our public broadcasters, ABC and the SBS, are by far the most trusted news services in the country. Time and time again they rate as the most trusted institutions and they rate well above the rest when it comes to trust in news.

As parliamentarians in this place and as responsible members of the government on the other side who tick off on their government's budgets year in, year out, I urge you to think about what needs to be done to support our public broadcasters to continue doing the good job of reporting the news, shedding light on democracy and our democratic institutions and ensuring that all of us are held to account to reinstate the trust of the public and the community in our public institutions.

Since this committee has been gathering evidence and seeking submissions, there have been a number of key changes. We've seen media reform laws pass this parliament. Some elements of those have been welcomed and others have fallen way short of what is needed to support public interest journalism across the country.

One of the most concerning things that has happened since this inquiry has been underway was the tabling of the new espionage legislation announced by the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, in December. It is meant to be about looking at foreign donations but in fact is going to put a spear through the heart of journalism in this country because it is effectively going to outlaw particular parts of investigative journalism and the ability of journalists in this country to inquire into and expose what our governments are doing, what our parliament is doing. In fact, under these new proposed laws, those journalists involved in the extraordinary story of the cabinet files discovered last week would have risked 15 years jail. That is what this current legislation, tabled by the Prime Minister, says.

I've heard a lot of the public commentary about this over the last few weeks and I urge the government to think very seriously about how they can amend this legislation to ensure that we allow journalists to keep doing their jobs. We need transparency in politics. We need transparency in the decisions made by the government in the name of the Australian people, and part of that is to ensure journalists can do their jobs without the fear of jail time, arrest and intimidation. In fact, in the inquiry that this report has come from, the suggestion was that the current laws are actually too harsh, that whistleblower protections need to be strengthened in order to allow journalists to do their jobs properly, to ensure that transparency is protected and that journalists are able to report on things without fear or favour. These new laws, as announced by the Prime Minister, currently being inquired by the Senate, will mean that those restrictions and that intimidation is only going to get worse.

Turkey, China and Egypt topped the list of countries last year for the worst conditions for journalists and the most jail time for journalists. I say to the government, and I see the Minister for Communications is sitting in the chamber here today, let's not make Australia part of that list in 2018. Let's make sure we protect the rights of journalists to continue to do their vital and important jobs.

There are a number of key recommendations that this report has highlighted that go to trying to find ways to support and protect public interest journalism and the very important role that it plays in our democracy. DGR status for non-profits is a good step forward, and I urge the government to think again about how this can be done. I know we've had conversations about this previously. Please consider that this is something that is not going to go away. The calls for proper support for our various journalism and media outlets, particularly those non-profits, are only going to grow louder as the public becomes more and more desperate for truth in politics and truth in our media. There are a number of other recommendations, whistleblower laws, and funding being supported and secured for our public broadcasters—crucial, I would say, in today's age. I urge the minister to look carefully at this report and to consider these issues going into the 2018 budget.

As I finish, I want to reflect on one of the saddest things that has happened in the past week. That of course is the passing of the veteran Age journalist Michael Gordon. When we talk about a contribution to public interest journalism, Michael was well ahead of the pack. He was a fantastic journalist, a beautiful storyteller and one of the nicest blokes any of us in this place has ever met. I say to Michael's family and to his friends and colleagues: we're all very sorry on Michael's passing. This place is going to be much poorer now that he's not around.