Former whistleblowers, experts and civil society groups are calling on the Albanese government to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority as part of Australia’s integrity and regulatory landscape.
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The Human Rights Law Centre wishes to correct a statement issued on 27 October 2022, ‘McBride prosecution proceeding to trial after Attorney-General intervention undermines whistleblowing defence’.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has condemned the ongoing injustice in the prosecution of David McBride, who blew the whistle on allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
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The draft legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is a missed opportunity for whistleblower protections and should be strengthened, the Human Rights Law Centre has told a parliamentary inquiry.
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The Human Rights Law Centre is calling on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC to discontinue the unjust prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle, with his defence hearing set to begin in Adelaide on Tuesday.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed a finding from the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, a national security watchdog, that the level of secrecy in the trial of an intelligence officer known as Witness J should not have occurred and can never be repeated.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the announcement that the federal government will drop the prosecution of whistleblower Bernard Collaery.
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On World Press Freedom Day, the Human Rights Law Centre is calling on both major parties to commit to dropping the ongoing prosecutions of three Australian whistleblowers and reforming whistleblowing laws if elected.
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The Human Rights Law Centre today called on the Morrison government to drop the unjust charges against whistleblower Bernard Collaery and urgently reform Australia’s whistleblower protection laws.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the release of the Jenkins’ report, which recommends both Houses of Parliament establish “clear and consistent” codes of conduct for MPs and Senators
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Today marks one year since the release of the Brereton Report into war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan. Human rights groups from Afghanistan and Australia have joined forces to reiterate the need for accountability and redress.
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Seven in 10 Australians want more legal protections for whistleblowers and say that whistleblowers make Australia a better place, according to new research by The Australia Institute and the Human Rights Law Centre.
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The ACT Court of Appeal has ruled that parts of the ongoing prosecution of Bernard Collaery should be open to the public.
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Australia's journalists and whistleblowers are under increasing threat and urgently need better legal protections, the Human Rights Law Centre has advised in a submission to a Senate inquiry examining free speech and press freedom.
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The Morrison Government has today rushed through a new law creating sweeping surveillance powers, ignoring crucial recommendations of the bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security that stronger safeguards are needed to protect the privacy of all Australians.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) recent report on the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 and called on the Morrison government to significantly amend the Bill in line with the Committee’s recommendations.
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The Human Rights Law Centre is urging the Queensland Government to introduce robust new shield laws to protect the identity of journalists’ confidential sources.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has expressed deep concern following the sentencing of Witness K, who blew the whistle by revealing that Australian spies had bugged the cabinet office of Timor-Leste to gain an upper hand in commercial negotiations over natural resources – oil and gas – that sit beneath the Timor Sea in 2004.
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Witness K, the former intelligence officer charged with revealing that Australian spies bugged the cabinet office of Timor-Leste to gain an upper hand in commercial negotiations, will return to court today facing possible jail time.
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The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the introduction of legislated minimum standards of openness in Australia’s legal system to prevent trials taking place in secret.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the findings of a Senate inquiry into press freedom and called on the Morrison Government to immediately act on recommendations to better protect whistleblowers and public interest journalism in Australia.
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The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) to drop the prosecutions of whistleblowers Bernard Collaery and Witness K, which to date have been shrouded in secrecy. Collaery’s case returns to the ACT Court of Appeal today for a two-day hearing in which Collaery will appeal an order made under the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 to hold his trial largely behind closed doors.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has called for new legal safeguards to prevent secret trials following the case of Witness J, an intelligence agent who was prosecuted and jailed in complete secrecy.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has criticised the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to drop the prosecution of whistleblower Richard Boyle, saying that the ongoing saga shows the need to urgently overhaul Australia’s whistleblower protection laws.
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New online surveillance laws proposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are dangerous, undemocratic and go far beyond what could be considered necessary and proportionate, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a parliamentary inquiry today.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has expressed alarm about an expansive new law proposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton that would give federal police invasive powers to takeover people’s online accounts and monitor online activity.
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The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed Attorney-General Christian Porter’s announcement that the Federal Government intends to overhaul current whistleblower protection laws and has called on the Government to commit to introducing and consulting on proposed changes early in the new year.
Afghan and Australian human rights organisations have welcomed the release of the report of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan (IGADF) Inquiry, led by Justice Paul Brereton, into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and have called on the Australian Government to now move swiftly to implement its recommendations and establish a proper redress mechanism for victims.
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Today, over 20 Afghan, Australian and international human rights and legal organisations wrote to the Assistant Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, Major General Justice Paul Brereton, urging him to commit to releasing the report of the Inquiry into allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
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A long awaited report from a Parliamentary committee has recognised the need for significant legal changes to protect public interest journalism, however the recommendations don’t go far enough to ensure journalists are not sent to prison for doing their job.
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Yesterday, the Australian Federal Police referred ABC journalist Dan Oaks, the journalist behind the Afghan Files, to the Commonwealth DPP to consider laying charges. The journalist’s stories, which uncovered alleged war crimes by Australian troops, prompted the AFP to raid the ABC’s headquarters last year, a move which was resoundingly condemned by journalists and the public.
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Australia’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen by five places in the latest annual assessment from Reporters Without Borders to 26th place behind countries such as Ireland, Uruguay, Germany, and Latvia.
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Today the High Court unanimously ruled that the warrant relied on by the Australian Federal Police to raid the home of News Corporation journalist Annika Smethurst was invalid, and the raid was therefore unlawful. However laws that criminalise public interest reporting remain in place, leaving journalists and whistleblowers exposed to police investigation and prosecution.
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Australia’s status as an open democracy has been downgraded in a blunt assessment released this week by a global alliance of human rights organisations.
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Much-needed restraints on law enforcement powers to decrypt people’s devices like mobiles and computers are welcome, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
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Tomorrow the case against former senior Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer, Witness K, is due to be heard in the ACT Magistrates Court.
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Journalists and whistleblowers will continue to face prosecution and jail time for revealing government misconduct and abuse, despite the Attorney-General’s announcement, warned the Human Rights Law Centre.
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The June 2019 Australian Federal Police raids on journalist Annika Smethurst’s home and the headquarters of the ABC highlight the need to rein in secrecy and mass surveillance laws that damage Australia’s democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a parliamentary inquiry today.
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The June 2019 AFP raids on Annika Smethurst’s home and the headquarters of the ABC should be the turning point to end law enforcement overreach and mass surveillance that damages Australia’s open democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary inquiry.
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Australian Federal Police raids on journalists and news outlets are part of a damaging trend of attacks on press freedom and democracy in Australia, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
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