Protecting the Media in an Age of Terror (Note: Date and Location change)
Presented by Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh; Professor Peter Greste; Mr Richard Murray and Professor Katharine Gelber (UQ).
In June the Australian Federal Police raided the Canberra home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the ABC’s Sydney headquarters. The raids attracted worldwide attention and sparked two Government Inquiries into the state of press freedom under Australia’s national security frameworks – both presently on foot. The raids may have shocked the world, but they came as no surprise to those who had been watching the escalation of Australia’s national security laws since September 11. In a multidisciplinary study combining detailed legal analysis with empirical research, Peter Greste, Kath Gelber, Richard Murray and Rebecca Ananian-Welsh have been mapping and unpacking the impact of national security law on press freedom and, most recently, directing this research into a targeted law reform agenda. Their research reveals the dynamics of the chilling effect that national security legislation is having on Australian media, particularly in the fulfilment of its role as fourth estate watchdog; as well as the benefits and challenges in drawing on global experience to guide domestic reform.
In July, Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Peter Greste, Richard Murray and Katharine Gelber contributed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on the ‘Inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law enforcement and intelligence powers on the freedom of the press.’ You can find their submission here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security/FreedomofthePress/Submissions
The Convenors of the program are Associate Professor Jacinta O’Hagan, Associate Professor Sarah Percy & Professor Chris Reus-Smit.
About Futures of International Order | Seminar Series
There is a widespread fear that the modern, ‘liberal’, international order is in crisis. Faced with multiple global challenges, from climate change and economic governance to nuclear arms control and global people movements, existing institutions increasingly appear outmoded, inefficient, and at times, dysfunctional. Meanwhile, existing institutional arrangements are being challenged by a diverse array of actors, from great powers (such as Russia) and transnational insurgents to right-wing nationalists. This university-wide seminar series is designed to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue on the possible futures of the modern international order. What challenges does it face, how will it evolve in the face of such challenges, what futures are desirable if it is to meet human and planetary needs?
Scholars are wrestling with these issues in a wide range of disciplines, from climate science and economics to history, philosophy, law, and political science. We invited scholars from all fields currently working on issues relating to ‘futures of international order’ to present in this seminar series.
This program was convened in 2019 by Associate Professor Jacinta O’Hagan, Associate Professor Sarah Percy & Professor Chris Reus-Smit.