ABC raided by Australian Federal Police, but it ‘stands by’ its journalists
The ABC headquarters in Sydney have been targeted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) today, in relation to the 2017 reporting known as The Afghan Files.
It is the second raid this week, with the AFP also raiding the home of a News Corp editor in Canberra, in response to a 2018 hacking story.
According to reports from the ABC, the search warrant provided by the AFP names investigative journalists Dan Oakes, Sam Clark and ABC director of news Gaven Morris.
Is it wrong that as soon as I read about the ABC raid, I immediately linked the close relationship between NewsCorp and the LNP and thought that the NewsCorp raid earlier in the week was therefore a smokescreen? 😉
Yes indeed a smokescreen. Interesting, it seems a viable use of the AFP powers, having seen more or less raids (coups) on Australia’s elected governments since 2008 or so with Gillard taking over Rudd.. Then Trunbull taking over Abbott. While this seemed illegitimate, no laws seem to have been broken i.e. Its well and good to overthrow an elected government, so long as its done from within.. The AFP should investigate the Billions or so of embezzled dollars from the Trunbull admin into the Great Barrier Reef Trust scam, water buy backs which have allegedly resulted in those funds sitting in Cayman Island accounts.. What a sickening excuse for democracy we now have. Taking orders from war mongering families of inbred lunatics.. God.
Nope. Similarly, with 2GB’s Ben Fordham allegedly facing investigation, I think they’re trying to make it appear as though no one is safe, but anyone with half a brain cell knows shutting down/up the ABC permanently is the government’s (as directed by the IPA/Murdoch) long-held ambition. And the AFP has long acted as Dutton’s muscle, so this is just the start.
How good is dystopia!
I think it is important the industry, and consumers speak with one voice on this. I don’t like what happened at News, and to the News Ltd journalist, and I don’t like what happened at the ABC to ABC journalists, and I don’t like the witness “K” prosecution, and these are all part of the same story: The state is using secrecy laws to constrain public discourse.
I think the MEAA and the publishers and the lawyers should be sitting in a room, discussing what is their common ground here. I hate what News Ltd has done to their editorial but this problem transcends that, and I feel there is a need for somewhere we can stand together on this.