AFP: Moves to limit raids on journos would have ‘operational impact’

AFP argues any move to limit raids on journalists would have an “impact” on their ability to pursue national security breaches.

Annika Smethurst and Campbell Reid at the National Press Club in Canberra for a debate on Press Freedom. Picture Gary Ramage.

The Australian Federal Police have argued that any move to limit their ability to target journalists in investigations — including through search warrants — would have an “operational impact” on their ability to pursue national security breaches.

Instead, in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom, the AFP suggested new “offence-specific defences” be introduced for journalists.

“Decisions about the legislative procedures and thresholds for the exercise of police powers are ultimately for parliament to determine,” the AFP said in its submission. “However, prohibitions or restrictions on the use of investigation powers over specific classes of individuals such as journalists may have an operational impact.”

Among the operational impacts listed are “the ability of police to ascertain the full facts of a case, including information that may support a journalist defence (and) the ability of the Attorney-General and CDPP to make informed decisions about the public interest in prosecuting.

“One way to minimise these impacts, is to provide protections in the form of offence-specific defences, as achieved through the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act 2018,” it said. “These defences were drafted specifically with the intention of balancing the need to protect freedom of speech and the importance of ensuring harmful information is not released.”

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry was sparked by the AFP’s raids on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters and the Canberra home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst for reporting leaks out of government agencies.

The raids have been defended by the AFP and Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton, but last month News Corp Australia — The Australian’s parent company — said it would challenge the June 4 raid in Canberra in the High Court by arguing it was invalid on the basis of the “implied right of political communication”.

The ABC also filed a claim in the Federal Court seeking to challenge the validity on the search warrant executed on June 5.

The AFP is also arguing against any moves that would allow media organisations to be heard when a search warrant is being sought, claiming it would “fundamentally undermine” their powers.

“Covert warrants are a key aspect of most investigations into serious offences,” the AFP said. “They enable police to collect information without alerting suspects, risking the destruction of evidence or providing an opportunity to employ counter-surveillance.

“Any form of contested hearing in relation to covert powers would fundamentally undermine their effectiveness, and the ability of police to conduct an investigation.”

It also said the early disclosure of a search warrant could alert “suspects” and provide “opportunities to destroy evidence”.

The AFP also said it was concerned about the storage of leaked classified documents

“Storing classified documents in an unsecure way … creates a risk of the information being accessed by nefarious third parties, including foreign actors.”