Antinuclear

Government ‘absolutely committed’ to press freedom as Australia drops in rankings,  Brisbane  Times, 24 Apr 20  Australia slipped five places to 26th in Reporters Without Borders’ latest world press freedom index, the global watchdog citing Australian Federal Police raids targeting reporters and cost-cutting in the industry as threats to public interest journalism.Attorney-General Christian Porter said the government was committed to protecting press freedom as media organisations and Labor seized on Australia’s slump in the rankings to renew calls for reform.

The drop in rankings comes after a campaign by the “Australia’s Right to Know” coalition of major media organisations, who have urged the Parliament to legislate on a suite of proposals to curb government secrecy. Labor labelled the global result “worrying” and called for action.

Mr Porter said the government was “absolutely committed” to a free press and was awaiting the findings of an inquiry by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee……

The media organisations have put forward six key recommendations, including public interest exemptions from national security laws, expanded safeguards for whistleblowers, freedom of information reform, the right to contest search warrants and defamation changes……

Mr Porter said the the committee’s previous plan to report by early this year had been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. The reporting deadline had already been delayed multiple times last year, with members citing the complexity of the task and late submissions.

Sources familiar with the committee’s deliberations told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age the plan was now to deliver the findings by the middle of the year.

Reporters Without Borders said Australia “used to be the regional model but is now characterised by its threats to the confidentiality of sources and to investigative journalism”.

The organisation also noted the concentration of media ownership, the closure of national news agency Australian Associated Press and that the Australian constitution was “completely lacking in guarantees for the right to inform and to be informed”.

A spokesman for Australia’s Right to Know said the coalition had long pursued changes and the High Court’s ruling last week on the search warrants executed at the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst “again illustrated the increasing urgency for law reform in this area.”

Journalists’ union the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance said the press freedom index result highlighted Australia was going backwards.

“Overseas observers are recognising what Australians already know: that press freedom in our country is under sustained assault,” MEAA official Marcus Strom said.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said in a joint statement the slide down the index “underscores the need for action by the government on law reform to support media diversity, support press freedom and address the concerns of Australia’s Right to Know coalition and civil society organisations”.  https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/government-absolutely-committed-to-press-freedom-as-australia-drops-in-rankings-20200423-p54mn6.html