FREEDOM OF SPEECH – AUSTRALIA

Media, security balance the goal

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-19

Foreign Minister Marise Payne will use a speech on 10 July to stress the importance of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. However, she will tell the Global Conference for Media Freedom that the public’s right to know must be balanced against the need to protect Australia’s national interest. Payne’s speech in London comes in the wake of the recent police raids on the Sydney offices of the ABC and the home of a News Corp Australia journalist.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, UNITED NATIONS. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Morrison government backs down on banning Milo Yiannopoulos in face of backlash

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Original article by Bevan Shields
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 9-Mar-19

Immigration Minister David Coleman will grant controversial right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos a visa to undertake an Australian tour. This follows a backlash against a Home Affairs letter that outlined a number of reasons why Yiannopoulos would fail the character test that the federal government has previously used to ban a number of people from entering Australia. Sky News host Andrew Bolt has described the attempt to ban Yiannopoulos from entering Australia as "pathetic", while Labor immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann says Yiannopoulos "has no place in Australia".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Repeal 18C or say farewell to free speech: think tank

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Dec-16

The Institute of Public Affairs believes that freedom of speech is potentially threatened by section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. The institute argues in a submission to the legal and constitutional parliamentary committee that section 18C should be removed in its entirety. The institute objected to the Human Rights Commission’s apparently excessive use of section 18C.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Free-speech heat on Shorten

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Original article by David Crowe, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Nov-16

The joint parliamentary committee on human rights will report the findings of an inquiry into the Racial Discrimination Act by 28 February 2017. Federal cabinet opted to refer the issue to the committee, which will examine the impact of sections 18C and 18D on freedom of speech. It will also consider possible changes to the way complaints are handled by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Meanwhile, AHRC president Gillian Triggs has indicated that she is open to changes to section 18C.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Greste warns against media curbs

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Dec-15

Australian journalist Peter Greste was presented with the Human Rights Medal by Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs on 10 December 2015. Greste used his speech to express concern about the potential impact of the Federal Government’s national security laws on free speech and freedom of the press.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AL JAZEERA