Public broadcaster challenges warrant’s validity on the basis it hinders its implied freedom of political communication
The decision to grant the AFP a search warrant for the ABC before its
raids over “The Afghan files” reports was “legally unreasonable” and
should be set aside, the public broadcaster has told the federal court.
Matt Collins QC, for the ABC, also told the court the AFP’s demand for the journalist Dan Oakes’s “forensic material” in the form of palm prints and fingerprints to match up with documents already in their possession was unreasonable.
The AFP raided the broadcaster in June over its 2017 reporting into the clandestine operations of Australian special forces in Afghanistan, badged as “The Afghan files”.
The previous day the AFP had raided the home of the News Corp political editor, Annika Smethurst, over articles she wrote in 2018 on proposals to expand Australia’s domestic surveillance capabilities.
Collins laid out four grounds for setting aside the warrant at the
first hearing in the ABC’s legal challenge against the AFP and a NSW
local court registrar who granted the warrant.Matt Collins QC, for the ABC, also told the court the AFP’s demand for the journalist Dan Oakes’s “forensic material” in the form of palm prints and fingerprints to match up with documents already in their possession was unreasonable.
The AFP raided the broadcaster in June over its 2017 reporting into the clandestine operations of Australian special forces in Afghanistan, badged as “The Afghan files”.
The previous day the AFP had raided the home of the News Corp political editor, Annika Smethurst, over articles she wrote in 2018 on proposals to expand Australia’s domestic surveillance capabilities.
Collins said the warrant was issued without consideration of the rights of journalists to protect their sources and the implied freedom of political communication under the constitution.
Collins said the warrant was “excessively broad” and materially misstated the terms of the offences. He said a wide raft of the material sought by the AFP was not relevant, and the decision to grant the warrant was “legally unreasonable”.
The parties were ordered to return to court on 19 August, with a potential hearing set down for late October or early November.
The ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, said the broadcaster was challenging the constitutional validity of the warrant “on the basis that it hinders our implied freedom of political communication”.
Anderson is also seeking a permanent injunction stopping the AFP accessing the electronic files removed from Ultimo on a sealed USB stick.
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