The Blue Mountains Union & Community Executive Committee express their unconditional support for the staff and management at the ABC and all journalists at this crucial time. We condemn the AFP attack on press freedom.
The Australian Federal Police raid on the ABC offices in Sydney on 5th June, 2019 follow a similar but unrelated raid on a News Corp investigative journalist Annika Smethurst’s home on 4th June, 2019.
These raids follow a pattern of increasingly secretive legislation over the last six years created not to just combat terrorism but to persecute and silence whistleblowers. These raids restrict freedom of the press and for journalists’ ability to undertake investigative journalism in Australia. The public's right to know and hold to account the country's government and its agencies has been seriously assaulted.
We believe the dark shadow of the Home Affairs department is behind these raids, so close to the Morrison Government’s re-election.
We call on all unionists and communities to register their condemnation of the raids and an immediate public enquiry into the new espionage laws and their effect on the future of public interest journalism and freedom of the press."
The Australian Federal Police raid on the ABC offices in Sydney on 5th June, 2019 follow a similar but unrelated raid on a News Corp investigative journalist Annika Smethurst’s home on 4th June, 2019.
These raids follow a pattern of increasingly secretive legislation over the last six years created not to just combat terrorism but to persecute and silence whistleblowers. These raids restrict freedom of the press and for journalists’ ability to undertake investigative journalism in Australia. The public's right to know and hold to account the country's government and its agencies has been seriously assaulted.
We believe the dark shadow of the Home Affairs department is behind these raids, so close to the Morrison Government’s re-election.
We call on all unionists and communities to register their condemnation of the raids and an immediate public enquiry into the new espionage laws and their effect on the future of public interest journalism and freedom of the press."
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