Media access denied GET UP

NEVILLE,

This week it was revealed by The Guardian that government agencies have been referring journalists to the federal police.Their crime? Reporting the truth.

When claims that asylum seekers on Manus Island were on hunger strike, sewing their lips and had even swallowed razor blades, first surfaced, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton flat out denied this was taking place. That was, until media reports proved otherwise.¹ This week the Minister told the ABC that asylum seekers inside the centre had armed themselves with makeshift weapons, only to be contradicted a day later by the PNG Government.² Now the Minister’s claims that PNG police only used “minimal force” when they entered the centre are being called into question.³

Over the past year journalists from The Guardian, News .com.au and The West Australian have been investigated by the federal police for “unauthorised disclosure of information”. The curious thing is, this isn’t even information related to highly sensitive intelligence operations or national security, but rather to reports about Australia’s immigration policies.⁴

Journalists should not be prosecuted for reporting matters in the public interest, nor should they be denied access to government operated facilities, which are funded by Australian taxpayers. These attempts to silence journalists from reporting the truth is an assault on the very heart of our democracy.

Now’s the time when we need as many of us a possible to speak out and hold our government accountable. Click here to call on the Immigration Minister to uphold press freedom and grant media access to Australia’s detention centres.

Earlier this week, in an act that can only be described as blatant hypocrisy, Minister Dutton issued an official statement to the media warning them to “use caution when reporting claims from individuals and groups who may have a vested interest”.⁵ Yet, the Abbott Government have forbidden any media access to the notorious detention centre, making it nearly impossible to verify the government’s claims. If Mr Dutton genuinely wants the media to report the facts he should grant them access to the centre to obtain them. Which begs the question – what is the Government trying to hide?

Australians deserve to know the truth about what our Government is doing. Click here to demand the truth: https://www.getup.org.au/stop-hiding

Holding power to account is what GetUp members do best, and press freedom plays a core role in keeping the government accountable. If Minister Dutton truly has nothing to hide, he should immediately grant the media access to Manus Island and Nauru, and not seek to persecute journalists for disclosing unfavourable information.

Let the minister know, we can handle the truth.

Alycia for the GetUp team

PS. It was the lack of government transparency surrounding asylum seekers that prompted more than 4700 GetUp members to crowdfund investigative journalism through the Shipping News project. These latest developments make it more necessary than ever. To find out more about the project and how you can be involved, click here: https://www.getup.org.au/stop-hiding

References
[1] Manus Island protest escalates, up to 700 detainees on hunger strike, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 January 2015
[2] Manus Island: PNG government contradicts Peter Dutton’s comments that protesting asylum seekers used weapons, ABC news, 22 January 2015
[3] Dutton says ‘minimal’ force used on Manus, SBS News, 20 January 2015
[4] Journalists reporting on asylum seekers referred to Australian police, The Guardian, 22 January 2015
[5] Ongoing unrest at the Manus Regional Processing Centre, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, 19 January 2015