Media urges federal court to abandon changes to document access

Max Mason, Hannah Wootton and Sam Buckingham-Jones

Jan 17, 2023 – 5.00am

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Journalists and editors from across Australia’s media sector are urging Federal Court Chief Justice James Allsop to wind back rules restricting access to court documents that were implemented without consultation.

In the letter sent to the judge on Monday, 58 journalists across Nine, News Corp, the ABC, The Guardian and more wrote that they were shocked and dismayed at “your court’s unexpected decision to dramatically reduce public access to court documents, and urge you to abandon this change, which represents a full-frontal assault on the principle of open justice”.

Max Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max’s journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason

Hannah Wootton is a Rear Window columnist, based in Melbourne.

Sam Buckingham-Jones is the media and marketing reporter at The Australian Financial Review.