Outcry as Australian police search public broadcaster

Right, Australia has no bill of rights. The State of Victoria (Melbourne) has a charter of human rights, but I don't think it's binding. Australia courts have held up freedoms of protest and press in the past, but technically the Crown does control all communication. New Zealand has an official office of censor.

It's important to note that Australia does not have a bill of rights. Victora (Melbourne) has a Charter of Human Rights. Although Australian courts have held freedoms of protest and press in the past, technically the Crown does have the legal power to control and censor communications.

> Australia, one of the most open, free and fair places in the world

I'm not sure what Australia you live in.

We are currently torturing asylum seekers, with unlimited detention periods (the only nation on earth who allows this). A recent whistleblower that showed corruption within the ATO (to Americans: the IRS) is facing charges that would land him with 160 years in prison. We've neglected and abused the native population to the point that Aboriginal teenager suicide rates are among the highest in the world. Our education system is failing to the point where our education system has the same standards as third world nations -- we rank lower in science and maths than Kazakhstan. In 2015, laws were passed to punish whistleblowers, journalists, AND THE PUBLIC if ASIO (Americans: the NSA) information becomes public. We are the only nation on earth to pass draconian anti-privacy laws that other nations' leaders can only dream of. We don't have any laws guaranteeing freedom of speech, privacy, or any other freedoms we take for granted -- and we are the only western democracy where this is the case.

Don't get me wrong, I hope Australia does get better -- after all, I deeply want it to because I've grown up here. But if you think that the Australia of today is in any way "one of the most open, free and fair places in the world" you're simply mistaken. Yes it's better than living in Saudi Arabia but that shouldn't be an accomplishment.

It seems I can't reply to your other comment, so I'll address it here:

>Journalists should know that if they walk the fine line between legal and illegal then they run the risk of being investigated.

Sure, no disagreements there.

>If they're confident they're on the right side of the law then they have little to worry about.

This is not the issue, the issue here is clearly intimidation by government entities that wish to silence the media. Right side of the law doesn't matter to the law if you have the right dirt. The right dirt will get your killed.

>What I take exception to is their attitude, as if it's some great affront to decency and democracy that they should come under any kind of scrutiny.

It certainly is a great affront to decency and democracy when the work the journalists are involved in is exposing behavior unfitting for the government. We're not talking about twitter accounts being suspended for saying unsavory things, we're talking about large organizations being raided by the entities they are investigating. Clearly these are distinct situations.

>I don't see many people hurling childish insults on HN, but here you are.

I call it like I see it. People like you are the reason that so much of our world is non-transparent. You might be ok with that, I am not.

> Our cops are criminals

I spent a year working as a cop and I can assure you that cops are in fact normal people. Like any organization or group there is a tribal aspect to it and they will certainly close ranks and attempt to protect their own; however, that is organizational not individual. There is a larger cultural issue involved that drives such misguided organizational behavior.