AFP will not lay charges against Annika Smethurst over publishing of classified intelligence documents.

Extract from ABC News

Politics

By political reporter Jordan Hayne

Posted 4 hours ago, updated 21 inutes ago

Ms Smethurst's home was raided last year after her reporting on classified documents.(ABC News)

News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst will not be charged over stories she published that relied on classified intelligence documents, police have announced, prompting the Attorney-General to label the length of the investigation "frustrating".

Key points:

• The AFP says "no one will be prosecuted" over the leaking of documents to Ms Smethurst
• Police say after reviewing material seized during raids on her home, they have decided not to lay charges
• Attorney-General Christian Porter says he is "frustrated" by the time it has taken to finalise the case

Last year, police raided Ms Smethurst's home over reports, published in the Sunday Telegraph, on plans to expand the powers of the Australian Signals Directorate.

The story relied on and included images of documents marked "secret" and "top secret".

But it was not until today that the Australian Federal Police ruled out laying charges against Ms Smethurst.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said he was frustrated the process had left Ms Smethurst in limbo for so long.

"The decision now to not pursue that investigation was made independently of government by the agencies in question," he said.

"I find it frustrating that it did take that long to resolve."

Until today, police had not ruled out charging Ms Smethurst, but the AFP said the investigation into News Corp had been finalised and no charges would be laid.

Earlier this year, the High Court ruled the search warrant used to raid Ms Smethurst's home was invalid, due to a technicality.

It did not make a ruling on whether the raids constituted a breach of free political communication.

However, the court allowed police to retain the material they seized.

Ms Smethurst's employer, News Corp Australiasia, blasted the AFP raid as "illegal".

"Common sense has prevailed, but at a price," executive chairman Michael Miller said.

"The irony should not be lost on anyone that the story that led to Annika's persecution was subsequently confirmed as being correct.

"The AFP's decision to drop the investigation into Annika Smethurst shows why the law reform proposals championed by Australia's Right to Know coalition of media organisations — particularly contestable warrants and shifting the burden of proof from the defendant — are sensible and essential."

AFP defends investigation

AFP Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Ian McCartney said the High Court challenge against the validity of the AFP's raid on Ms Smethurst's home had delayed the investigation.

"We had to await the outcomes of the High Court decision before we had the opportunity to review the material," he said.

"That judgement, also provided us the opportunity to review that material, reviewing that material has allowed us to come to the decision we've come to today.

"No-one will be prosecuted in relation to this unauthorised disclosure."

Deputy Commissioner McCartney said the evidence seized by police would not be used in any future investigations.

"Under our guidelines and our procedures, that evidence has now been destroyed," he said.

The raid on Ms Smethurst's home came one day before the AFP launched raids on the ABC over a separate matter, sparking a national debate about press freedom.

Deputy Commissioner McCartney said the police investigation into two ABC reporters over their reporting on war crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan would continue.

"Regrettably, almost a year after its raid on the ABC, the AFP has not yet ruled out prosecuting our journalists, Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, over their factual and important reporting," an ABC spokeswoman said.

"They still remain in limbo."

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said that meant the issue of press freedom remained a serious concern, and called on the Government to legislate protections for journalists.

"The law needs to be changed to make it clear that journalists are not to be prosecuted, are not to be threatened with the criminal law just for doing their jobs," he said.