Laws allowing journalism to be criminalised need urgent reform, the union for journalists said after charges against ABC reporter Dan Oakes were dropped on October 15.
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance federal president Marcus Strom said while it was 鈥済ood news鈥 for Oakes and colleague Sam Clark, fight for genuine reform of laws that restrict the public鈥檚 right to know needed to continue.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) had been considering charging Oakes, after he revealed allegations of war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2017.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disturbing that Australia can operate like a police state by criminalising journalism, raiding journalists in their homes and workplaces, and threatening them with jail for their legitimate journalism that is clearly in the national interest,鈥 Strom said.
Strom said that given the CDPP believed 鈥渢here were reasonable prospects of conviction鈥 in relation to two of three charges, it was 鈥渃lear鈥 that the current laws 鈥渁llow government agencies to operate in secret鈥.
He said the laws 鈥減unish journalists and whistleblowers for upholding the public鈥檚 right to know鈥 and that 鈥渢hey are being used in response to news stories that embarrass governments鈥.
鈥淭hat undermines our democracy鈥, Strom said, because laws which threaten jail terms for legitimate scrutiny of government 鈥渉ave a chilling effect on journalism鈥.
ABC managing director David Anderson said while it was good the charges were dropped, he was disappointed authorities even considered prosecution. 鈥The Afghan Files is factual and important reporting, which exposed allegations about Australian soldiers committing war crimes in Afghanistan.鈥
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chaired a Senate committee into press freedom, said the Greens would seek to introduce a media freedom act into federal parliament, a proposal that the Alliance for Journalists鈥 Freedom supports.