Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, with a focus on press freedom and freedom of speech, as articulated in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year's theme is:

Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights

Every day, journalists around the world risk their lives, and sometimes those of their families, to bring us news and to keep us informed. In war zones, places of dangerous natural disasters or where criminal activity is out of control, journalists are there—filming events, investigating and reporting their stories. They witness horrific scenes; they delve into human rights abuses and persecution by brutal regimes, and into wrongdoing and corruption by governments, powerful business interests and criminal networks.

Their work is often extremely dangerous. Since 1993, when the UN proclaimed World Press Freedom Day, 1,591 journalists are reported to have lost their lives because of their work. The number could well be much higher; each year hundreds are detained, often indefinitely, on spurious charges—or no charges—and with no rights and no fairness. Journalism can be especially risky when those who abuse their power, including legitimately elected governments, are threatened by the truth. For those with power, truth is often the enemy and what they fear most.

Truth is fundamental to all human rights. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated:

Freedom of the press is the foundation of democracy and justice.

We all expect to be told the truth. Regrettably, that is not always the case. Journalistic freedom is often constrained by powerful media owners who use their media control to advance their personal interests or to pursue their political ideology. Thankfully, independent journalism is now much more possible and prevalent because of the internet. But so are falsehoods and disinformation.

However it is of grave concern when journalists are being silenced by those who serve under the banner of freedom, justice and human rights. Events such as the killing of five Australian journalists in Indonesia almost half a century ago in 1975, the car-bombing murder of Daphne Galizia in Malta in 2017 or the torture and killing of Jamal Khashoggi after entering the Saudi embassy in Turkiye in 2018 understandably evoked widespread community outrage. Regrettably, public outrage over their deaths and that of other journalists have not prevented threats of violence against journalists, with 67 killed last year.

Right now the case of Cheng Lei, a Chinese-born Australian journalist who has been detained for over a thousand days in China without any details of the charges against her, is a glaring example of the risks and injustices faced by journalists. Julian Assange lost his freedom in 2010 for exposing US war crimes, whilst those who were responsible for the war crimes, to my knowledge, have never been pursued or held to account. Since 2019, Assange has been held in the high-security Belmarsh prison whilst fighting extradition to the USA, where, if he is found guilty, he faces lifelong imprisonment. He is being held under conditions much worse, and with fewer rights, than what a serial killer might expect. I note that only recently Assange wrote to King Charles about the conditions in Belmarsh prison.

It is widely believed that the real reason for the pursuit of Julian Assange is payback for him exposing the truth about US war crimes and to warn off others from doing the same. His pursuit and treatment by the US and England is completely at odds with their status as leaders of the free world and upholders of human rights. The campaign to free Julian Assange grows daily, with US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr now on board and announcing that he would pardon Assange and investigate the crimes and corruption Assange exposed. The campaign to free Julian Assange will not end until he is released. My view is that the charges against Julian Assange are contrived.

I will continue to defend his rights and those of all journalists who expose the truth whenever the public have a right to know. I welcome the comments by the Prime Minister that enough is enough, and that the matter needs to be brought to a conclusion.