David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to bring to the chamber a concerning story that calls into question press freedoms in Australia. Matt Abbott is a globally renowned photojournalist. He has worked with major Australian publications, as well as the New York Times, Washington Post and National Geographic. He has won multiple Walkleys and is perhaps most well known for taking the iconic photograph of a property burning in the 2019-2020 bushfires with the shadow of a hopping kangaroo in the foreground. Matt Abbott is one of the best photojournalists we have in this country, because the stories he covers matter. Yet his voice and the incredible images he's able to capture are not always able to tell those stories.

Late last year Matt was invited to visit the ceremonial camp of the Wangan and Jagalingou cultural custodians at the Adani Carmichael mine. He went to capture their demonstration against the mine, but within minutes of arriving at the camp a patrolling security vehicle with a video camera mounted on the passenger seat filmed Matt and his colleague. Matt thinks that they were able to run image-recognition software to identify him, because when he returned home he found a letter from Adani—who have been renamed Bravus in Australia, which actually turns out to be Latin for 'crooked', 'mercenary' or 'assassin'. The letter said: 'Bravus reserves all of its rights, including to recover any damages caused by the publication of material obtained or activities conducted during any unlawful entry on Bravus's mining lease.' In other words, they threatened to sue Matt and his colleague if they published the story and the photographs.

According to the cultural custodians of that land, led by Gurridyula, also known as Coedie McAvoy, the story of the destruction of their land is not being told. According to Gurridyula, 'There is a stranglehold on news stories about our situation,' and, 'If media outlets tried to put our real stories out there, Adani's lawyers intimidate them. Adani is like that Karen who lives next door and keeps calling the police.' It is well documented that Adani has on other occasions and in other contexts sought to silence journalists with an attack-dog strategy. Commencing legal action and lodging complaints with the Press Council are some of the methods used to intimidate journalists in Australia and abroad. According to Gurridyula and other cultural custodians, two prominent Australian news outlets have visited the camp to take interviews, videos and photos but did not subsequently publish their stories, following legal correspondence from Adani. Matt has independently verified these allegations.

The truth is that Adani, or Bravus, are not concerned about members of the public visiting the site. In Matt's words, 'The targeted intimidation of journalists is designed to prevent the wider reporting on the Carmichael mine operation, avoiding further public criticism of Adani's controversial coalmine.' In Gurridyula's words, 'Guests have a right to participate in the Waddananggu ceremony. Adani is making things up to scare people away, stopping this story from getting out.'

These stories need to be heard. When one of our best photojournalists speaks out, we should all listen. I quote Matt again: 'I believe we have a problem when media outlets are intimidated to a point where they are self-censoring their stories. What does that say about our democracy, our culture of secrecy, that a litigious foreign-owned corporation can have so much influence in our press?'

Press freedom is fundamental to a flourishing democracy. It's something that we should all care about. It's something that we should all stand up for. I seek leave to table Matt's story and photographs.

Leave granted.