Ita Buttrose slams ‘unprecedented’ raid on ABC headquarters
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters has drawn the ire of ABC chair Ita Buttrose who today spoke out about the public’s right to uncensored journalism.
In a statement published by ABC, Buttrose confirmed she had registered her ‘grave concern’ over the raid with the Federal Government and discussed it with Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher.
Journalism is not a crime #pressfreedom pic.twitter.com/LNNtMrSTDZ
It’s a horrible sign of where Australia is going.
I’m sure there’ll be some usual right wing commenter who approves because it’s the ABC, but regardless of who, this is intimidation of journalism, and it should not be condoned.
The AFP raids on both the ABC and the home of a journalist are simply not acceptable in any democracy. One of the cornerstones of a democracy is the right of media to have and to feel that they have the freedom to report what they believe to be in the public interest without fear of harassment.
Struggling to understand the use of the term “raid”.
This was a negotiation between the AFP and ABC that went on for months to arrive at a day that best worked for all concerned. The ABC knew the AFP were turning up on that day and had their cameras ready to capture it. That sounds more like an appointment than a raid.
This this true? If it sounds so, that would be a worthwhile exercise for Mumbrella to investigate?
So you consider having AFP staff arrive with a search warrant and remove documents an appointment. Very odd.
While it may not have been on par with the arrival of a horde of Visgoths it most certainly also wasn’t ‘an appointment’.