Face of Nation : Law enforcement and intelligence agencies will front a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom after coming under fire from media chiefs during the opening day of public hearings.
The Australian Federal Police is listed to appear before the powerful intelligence and security committee on Wednesday, with top brass expected to be grilled about the raids on journalists that sparked the inquiry. Home Affairs Department secretary Michael Pezzullo is listed to appear, along with senior representatives of the Australian Security Intelligence Organsiation.
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Margaret Stone, Attorney-Generals’ Department and the Office of National Intelligence will also face questions from federal politicians. The inquiry comes months after AFP raids on the Canberra home of a News Corp journalist and the Sydney office of the ABC over separate investigations into government leaks.
News Corp executive chairman Michael Miller said national security agencies and law enforcement had made submissions to the inquiry talking about the importance of a robust and free media.
“A fundamental pillar, they say. Keeping the public informed, they say. The rhetoric plays the right tune,” he told the inquiry on Tuesday. “However, we have many laws that criminalise journalism. They are creating a secret society that most Australians would not recognise as our own. “We may not be living in a police state, but we are living in a state of secrecy.”
A dozen senior media executives presented a united front to demand changes to national security laws they say will protect journalists. Mr Miller said the package of legislative change would put a stop to the “creeping secrecy that shrouds Canberra”.
“Sometimes I think that might be what the authorities here want, is fewer whistleblowers and fewer revelations, and less information coming out from behind a curtain of confidentiality within government,” he said.
Before the public hearing, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton gave new directions to the AFP on investigations into journalists and media organisations. He expects them to give more weight to press freedom concerns before seeking and executing a search warrant.
