Australia going backwards on press freedom according to MEAA
The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has said Australia is going backwards on press freedom and is in further danger of eroding it without major changes to support public interest journalism.
In an announcement on its website for World Press Freedom Day 2023, the union is calling for reforms to national security laws, freedom of information, and defamation so that journalists can “confidently play their role to support democracy by ensuring the public knows what is done in their name by governments and their institutions”.
MEAA Media federal president Karen Percy
MEAA Media federal president Karen Percy noted that in recent years Australia had slid down the ranks for press freedom to just 39th place in 2022, according to Reporters Sans Frontières, compared to 19th five years ago.
“In Australia, we like to think of ourselves as progressive and world leaders when it comes to democracy, with a free media playing an important role in ensuring our democracy functions effectively,” she said.
“But over the years, little by little, law by law, regulation by regulation, amendment by amendment, journalists and media outlets – and more importantly the public’s right to know – have been squeezed in the name of national security.
“Today, World Press Freedom Day, is an opportunity to take stock and have a hard look at what needs to change to deliver on the promise of democracy.”
Percy added the tightening of national security laws had placed a veil of secrecy over much of the functioning of government, which was putting journalists in danger of imprisonment for mere possession of classified documents without even having published or broadcast a story based on them.
Percy also urged that whistleblowers be protected and not prosecuted, and that freedom of information processes “urgently needed” reform.
“Another area that needs urgent change is our defamation laws which favour the rich, and are designed to muzzle brave reporting,” she said.
“Too many important stories never see the light of day because of the chilling effect these outdated laws have on journalism.”
The legal obstacles also present a difficult environment for the growing community of freelance journalists, as well as smaller outlets and regional media organisations, which lack the resources to fight them, Percy added.
The MEAA also flagged concerns around the possible changes to the Privacy Act, which it said might inhibit press freedom, as well as the plight of journalists being harassed and threatened physically and online. The union also highlighted the “ever dwindling” media workforces and the emergence of ‘news deserts’ in regional and rural Australia as some more barriers to the public’s right to know.
Percy said a recent meeting hosted by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and attended by representatives of MEAA and Australia’s major media organisations had been “encouraging”, though any real reforms are yet to be enacted.
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Karen Percy
MEAA
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance
press freedom
Reporters Sans Frontières
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