In the last decade there have been over 80 pieces of legislation introduced to increase security in Australia that impact on press freedom – ironically, that legislation weakens what it is designed to protect: some of the foundations of our democracy including press freedom.

The Media Freedom Act (MFA), outlined in AJF’s White Paper, will act as a shield against the security legislation, which we need to give judges more power to protect the public’s right to know.

Timeline: this project is advanced; the campaign for this has been underway since early 2019 when AJF became operational. With various components underway, including the drafting of the Act and the development of a National Working Group which seeks to bring together security agencies and heads of media to build trust, this is a long-term project which we expect to continue for the next five years.