Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2002 - Australia
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 3 May 2002 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2002 - Australia, 3 May 2002, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/487c523328.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
True press freedom exists in Australia. In spite of the domination of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, pluralism exists in this country. But in late 2001, Australian authorities did everything they could to prevent journalists from covering the arrival of Afghani refugees.
On 30 November 2001, the Australian press council denounced censorship of news concerning the detention of a group of asylum-seekers who arrived from Indonesia by boat. The country's media were refused access to the detention centres, most of them located in the back-country or on Pacific islands. Some journalists obtained clandestine interviews, but most of them had to make do with information provided by the authorities. According to the government, their goal was not to block the media, but, above all, to "protect the privacy of the detainees".
In December, the Australian chapter of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) held a press conference denouncing the difficulties that journalists encountered obtaining information from federal and provincial administrations. "The law on freedom of information is not respected and the authorities only give information in the public interest when they want to," said the president of the CPU in Australia.
