Recommendations from a final report offer a few advances in striking the balance between national security and press freedom, but do not go nearly far enough.
Over the years, much of Hong Kong’s media has been bought up by China-owned or -affiliated entities. Now, the few remaining independent journalists face a new threat: the city’s national security law.
With the demise of Pierre Nkurunziza, all eyes are on Burundi’s new president as he inherits a political framework that has repressed press freedom and silenced independent media voices.
The BBC’s audiences have grown as it provides high quality news an information about the pandemic. But is it doing enough to hold the government to account?
In dismissing the case, Justice Wendy Abraham drew attention to a huge gap in the protection of journalists’ sources under ‘shield laws’, which don’t apply to most search warrants.
Our national security laws are uniquely broad and complex – and media freedom too often becomes entangled in them. It’s time to enshrine this freedom as a central part of our democracy.
As the battle over press freedom continues, the Attorney-General has ordered that any prosecution of a journalist for offences related to national security must have his approval.
We have a serious deficit in legal protection for human rights in Australia, rights that have been in regression for 20 years. We need a legislated charter setting out the rights we care about.