MARK DREYFUS MP

Member for Isaacs

BBC World Service 21 October 2019

21 October 2019

SUBJECT: Press Freedom

THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
BBC WORLD SERVICE NEWSDAY
MONDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2019

SUBJECT: Press Freedom.

ALAN KASUIJA: Today Australian newspapers have blacked out the front page of their papers as part of a nationwide campaign for media freedom. They say the Governments strict security legislation prevents them from keeping the public properly informed. The Shadow Attorney-General of Australia Mark Dreyfus is on the line, and joins us now. Thank you very much for joining us Mr Dreyfus. What's the background to this campaign?

MARK DREYFUS, SHADOW ATTORNEY GENERAL: Very good to be with you Alan.

The background to this campaign is simply the raids by police on the home of a journalist and on the offices of journalists, which occurred shortly after the election in early June. That caused a storm of controversy that attracted international attention. Since then, a coalition of media organisations and the media union in Australia have been campaigning, but today they've stepped up the campaign with, as you say, blacked out front pages of every print newspaper in Australia, a TV advertising campaign, a radio advertising campaign. And it's hoped that the Government will listen and introduce legislation in a range of areas that will improve the position of journalists and the public's right to know.

KASUIJA: Tell us about the legislation that is causing problems. What is it and what do they mean when they talk about security legislation?

DREYFUS: We've had a lot of security legislation passed in Australia since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. And there's been, as well, some terrorism activity right here and a lot of this is counter-terrorism legislation. It's gradually got to a situation where journalists, it's now apparent, are at risk of being prosecuted.

To some extent it's about a change in the way conventions are understood and what press freedom really means. Under the current Government of Australia that's been in place now for more than six years increasingly it's been become a secretive government, a government that's not prepared to comply with freedom of information laws, a government that's not prepared to answer questions and particularly, it seems, a government that's prepared to set police investigations underway to chase journalists who are doing no more than doing their job.

KASUIJA: So that's the current Government. Some people will argue that if Mark Dreyfus party was in power, you would use that same legislation in the same manner.

DREYFUS: I'd like to point to the Labor Party's record in government. We, when last in government, very substantially reformed freedom information laws to make access to government information easier. This Government has gone completely in the other direction. We've argued very strongly for freedom of the press, both at times when we were in government, and in the last six years we've been in opposition. So I actually would simply say I point to the record of the Labor Party in government.

KASUIJA: One word answer - is press freedom under attack in Australia, do you think?

DREYFUS: I think undoubtedly press freedom is under attack in Australia.

KASUIJA: Okay.

DREYFUS: We've got an intimidatory effect of raids being conducted on journalists and others. The Government refuses to rule out prosecution of those journalists so they've had that Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads now for many months.

Yes, I think that press freedom is under attack in Australia.

KASUIJA: Good to talk to you sir. Thank you for your time. We've been speaking to Mark Dreyfus who is the Shadow Attorney-General of Australia.

ENDS