Witness K, Bernard Collaery, and journalism bringing the actions of governments to light
Derek Wilding, Co-Director, Centre for Media Transition
Watching Four Corners on Monday night, many of us were reminded of how heavy-handed the pursuit of Witness K and lawyer Bernard Collaery has been.
At CMT, we were struck by the questions posed by Catholic nun, Sister Susan Connelly, on why they are being pursued over the exposure of conduct that many in the community find shocking. To us, the conduct deserving criticism is that of Australian government representatives – for ordering the bugging in the first place, and then for the way in which they responded to the action brought by Timor-Leste in the International Court of Justice.
The program made us think about the value of journalism in bringing the actions of governments into the light. It’s why, here at CMT, we’re contributing to inquiries into the impact on journalism of laws empowering security and law enforcement agencies to obtain information on journalists’ sources and to prosecute journalists gathering news and reporting on the conduct of government.
Even if it’s right that foreign actors might attempt to use journalists to obtain confidential information and somehow influence the political process, our laws should not get in the way of journalism that helps keep governments and their agencies accountable to the community. Yes, it can be difficult to find the line where national security laws should limit our rights to free speech and access to information. But we can’t let that line move so far back that raids on the homes and offices of journalists – as well as lawyers acting for whistleblowers – seem like normal behaviour.
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