AFP raids had nothing to do with national security

Journalists aren’t looking for sympathy over police raids on their homes and offices. It’s not about us. It’s about the public’s right to know what is being done secretly in its name by those with power, writes Miranda Devine.

There’s a frightening illiberalism in commentary about the recent federal police raids on my colleague Annika Smethurst’s Canberra home and the ABC’s Sydney HQ.

Who do the media think they are, complaining about police scrutiny, goes the narrative. When it comes to national security, we should just trust the government and the deep state.

Well, no, sorry. No one with a shred of journalistic credibility or historical knowledge could argue along those lines.

The raids quite clearly had nothing to do with national security. They were designed as heavy-handed performance intimidation of journalists and, more importantly, of the whistleblowers who risk everything to disclose information in the public interest.

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Journalists aren’t looking for sympathy. It’s not about us. It’s about the public’s right to know what is being done secretly in its name by those with power.

Smethurst’s story suggesting public servants were trying to introduce new laws to allow government agencies to spy on Australian citizens was inarguably in the public interest.

The Canberra home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst was raided, with the AFP being given permission to search her home, computer and mobile phone. Picture: supplied

There were no national security implications when she revealed leaked correspondence on the topic between Home Affairs department head Mike Pezzullo, the head of Defence, Greg Moriarty, and the Director General of the secretive Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Mike Burgess. But she embarrassed some powerful players.

Her story highlighted Pezzullo’s tendency to overstep his authority, as we saw again earlier this month when he took it upon himself to phone crossbench Senator Rex Patrick who saw the call as an attempt to silence his criticism of the Department. The Prime Minister even was forced to express “concern” about Pezzullo.

RELATED: Annika Smethurst raid was more than an invasion of privacy

It was never a good idea to create an all-powerful Home Affairs department three years ago, as Malcolm Turnbull did to try to stave off Peter Dutton’s leadership ambitions.

The new department merges immigration and border security with most of the nation’s national security and intelligence agencies, including the Federal police and cyber security functions.

This is Pezzullo’s vast empire. He is the most powerful person in a country which, since the raids, has come to be known overseas as the most secretive democracy in the developed world.

It’s the media’s obligation to tell you about that.

@mirandadevine