Attorney-General Porter should rule out prosecution of journalist who uncovered potential war crimes

Yesterday, the Australian Federal Police referred ABC journalist Dan Oaks, the journalist behind the Afghan Files, to the Commonwealth DPP to consider laying charges. The journalist’s stories, which uncovered alleged war crimes by Australian troops, prompted the AFP to raid the ABC’s headquarters last year, a move which was resoundingly condemned by journalists and the public. 

Alice Drury, Senior Lawyer with the Human Rights Law Centre, said the Attorney-General Christian Porter should immediately rule out any prosecution of Mr Oakes, and the Government must expedite law reforms to protect whistleblowers and journalists. 

“Last year, Attorney-General Christian Porter gave himself the power to refuse consent for prosecutions of journalists. Now, he should publicly commit to using that power to save Mr Oakes from prosecution for doing his job,” said Drury.

Following AFP raids on ABC headquarters and the home of NewsCorp journalist Annika Smethurst last year, Federal Parliament launched two inquiries into whether our laws adequately protect whistleblowers and journalists. More than 12 months on, neither inquiry has reported any findings. 

“We have been waiting for over a year since the raids to see any action from the Government to protect whistleblowers and journalists. We cannot wait any longer. The Government might not like scrutiny or having wrongdoing exposed, but we are a democracy and Australians have a right to know what our Government is doing in our name. Journalists must be able to do their jobs without fear of being put in prison.”

“Attacks on whistleblowers and public interest journalism strike at the heart of our democracy. The raids on journalists’ homes and workplaces, and now the potential prosecution of journalists, show we urgently need law reform to protect whistleblowers and public interest journalism. There must be greater limits on police powers when they are used to shut down Government scrutiny,” said Drury.  

The Human Rights Law Centre told both Parliamentary inquiries mid last year that the Government needed to rein in secrecy and mass surveillance laws that damage Australia’s democracy. 

“The issue of criminalising whistleblowing and unacceptable surveillance of journalists is damaging our democracy every single day and must be addressed,” said Drury.

Alice Drury says it’s another reminder why we need to create an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. “We can’t keep letting journalists be targeted when they are doing their job in the public interest. We need to hardwire values like press freedom into the heart of our laws, which is what a Charter of Human Rights would do.”

Media contact:

Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre, 0419 100 519