MEAA Second AFP raid a disturbing 'new normal' that seeks to criminalise journalism

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2019 #MEAAMEDIA #PRESSFREEDOM FEATURED NEWS MEAA

Two raids by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on journalists and media organisations within the last 24 hours represent a disturbing attempt to intimidate legitimate news journalism that is in the public interest, says the union for Australian journalists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA).

Yesterday’s raid on a News Corporation Australia journalist, and today’s raid on the ABC and three of its journalists, suggest that no media organisation is immune from government attacks on press freedom.

MEAA Media section president Marcus Strom: “A second day of raids by the Australian Federal Police sets a disturbing pattern of assaults on Australian press freedom. This is nothing short of an attack on the public’s right to know.

“Police raiding journalists is becoming normalised and it has to stop.

“These raids are about intimidating journalists and media organisations because of their truth-telling. They are about more than hunting down whistleblowers that reveal what governments are secretly doing in our name, but also preventing the media from shining a light on the actions of government,” he said.

“It is equally clear that the spate of national security laws passed by the Parliament over the past six years have been designed not just to combat terrorism but to persecute and prosecute whistleblowers who seek to expose wrongdoing. These laws seek to muzzle the media and criminalise legitimate journalism. They seek to punish those that tell Australians the truth.

“Yesterday’s raid was in response to a story published a year ago. Today’s raid comes after a story was published nearly two years ago. Suddenly, just days after a federal election, the Federal Police launches this attack on press freedom. It seems that when the truth embarrasses the government, the result is the Federal Police will come knocking at your door,” Strom said.

“MEAA demands to know who is responsible for ordering these coordinated raids, and why now. We call for the Government and Opposition to take collective responsibility for the legal framework they've created that is allowing for what appears to be politically motivated assault on press freedom,” Strom said.

“For years the Liberal and Labor parties have engaged in a high-stakes game of bluff which has seen the introduction of anti-democratic laws in the guise of national security legislation. It is time that the Government and Opposition had a common sense approach to defusing these poisonous laws that are effectively criminalising journalism. This attack on the truth must end.”

UK 1930s Mass Trespass Film

Mass Trespass from wellredfilms on Vimeo.

NSWTF – Women's Conference 2019

Saturday 24 August 2019

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a "gift to the nation"

Julie Power

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a "gift to the nation" to build a bridge "between an ancient past and a hopeful future", said Catherine Hunter, a partner with KPMG.

KPMG is one of 14 organisations who have accepted the Uluru statement's invitation to walk the path to reconciliation with First Nations' peoples. On Wednesday, a coalition of companies, organisations and universities will throw their support behind the Uluru Statement and its call for a referendum to enable constitutional reform.

14 top organisations have released a video to publicise their support of the Uluru Statement and its call for a referendum to enable constitutional reform.

Representing BHP, Libby Ferrari, manager of Indigenous affairs, said the company stood "side by side" in support of the call for a shared future.

"We've not always got this right in our history, but we know clearly that strong relationships, centred on listening and respect, get the best outcomes for everyone," she said.

Top organisations have thrown their support behind the Uluru statement of the heart.

The 14 companies, which issued the ‘Response to the Uluru Statement’, included BHP, Curtin University, Herbert Smith Freehills, IAG, KPMG, Lendlease, National Rugby League, PwC Australia, PwC’s Indigenous Consulting, Qantas, Richmond Football Club, Rio Tinto, Swinburne University of Technology and Woodside.

Many, like IAG's managing director Peter Harmer, saw it as a chance to bring about positive change to support and empower First Nations peoples.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said corporate Australia had a leadership role to play. And the coalition of 14 also urged other companies and organisations to follow suit.

In a formal response, the group says it has "heard the call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and for a referendum ... " And it acknowledged the call for a makarrata commission to supervise an agreement making between governments and First Nations and "truth telling about our history".

Artists work on the Uluru statement

'Overwhelming support': How the Uluru Statement came together on canvasAdd to shortlist
A makarrata means treaty, but the Yolgnu word from the Northern Territory also embodies a process of resolving conflict, making peace and achieving justice.

In the spirit of reconciliation, the group said it would support Indigenous Australians to develop specific proposals in relation to "Voice, Treaty and Truth".

Peter Beattie, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, said the league had a long and strong relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He was looking forward to walking with First Nations' peoples towards a constitutionally enshrined voice in Parliament.

Richmond Football Club chief executive Brendon Gale, CEO, said a commitment to the future had to be based on an "acknowledgment of the past".

The historic consensus reached at Uluru in 2017 was a "major milestone in the journey towards achieving constitutional reform," said Brooke Massender, global head of pro bono with Herbert Smith Freehills.

Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia, said their research showed "an overwhelming majority of Australians support the aspirations within the Uluru Statement from the Heart".

She said the statement from the companies - who have all achieved the highest level of endorsement for their work towards reconciliation - would help "build momentum towards genuine reconciliation”.

Aboriginal leader and Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson AO said the Uluru Statement from the Heart was issued as an invitation to the Australian public to walk with us.

“It is significant that the leadership of corporate Australia has accepted our invitation," she said.

New Zealand Unions Welcome Wellbeing Budget

The Council of Trade Unions is welcoming the concept of a Wellbeing Budget “We certainly believe that a budget which focuses on meaningful measures to ensure the lives of all New Zealanders are better, is a good idea,” CTU President Richard Wagstaff said.

“The way the Budget has been prepared and presented emphasises the need for better wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders. In that sense it has succeeded in being a Wellbeing Budget and after years of neglect we’ve seen the largest new spending in over a decade of $3.8 billion. But the needs of New Zealanders are significant and it will take even more than a single budget to ensuring wellbeing.”

“It is great to see a serious boost to primary mental health services and the large capital injection to fix hospitals. The overall increases to Vote Health maintain current commitments in real terms. However, the new spend isn’t spread evenly which will result in parts of the health sector remaining under pressure.”

“We welcome the funding for Future of Work and Just Transition development. The boost to apprenticeships and trade training is a crucial component in achieving a Just Transition and is especially welcome.”

“Indexing of welfare benefits is a certainly a step in the right direction, but it is from the low base that the Welfare Expert Advisory Group showed was totally inadequate.”

“It is possible to imagine a brighter New Zealand; where we all get the healthcare we need when we need it, where we can get good jobs in industries which are beneficial to the planet, where everyone can access world class education. We can turn these imaginings into reality through a properly funded wellbeing budget. By prioritising our resources we can have the country of our dreams.”

“Future Wellbeing Budgets will be able to build on this Budget and create such a future. Today’s Budget takes the first step towards a people focused future,” Wagstaff said, “the Government must review its Budget Responsibility Rules to ensure the funding is available to realise the full potential of a wellbeing budget.”