Stories about Australia
National broadcaster axes Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf over Gaza social media post
"Does anyone think an ABC reporter would have been sacked for posting a message on social media supporting Israel?"
Australian journalist pushes back against anti-LGBTQ+ trolls
"I don't want people to feel like I'm not their broadcaster. But equally if I'm not my authentic self, I can't do my job well."
‘I can see the entirety of the sky now’: Australian journalist Cheng Lei is now free
"Tight hugs, teary screams, holding my kids in the spring sunshine. Trees shimmy from the breeze. I can see the entirety of the sky now! Thank you Aussies."
Australian parliamentarians visit Washington to lobby for Julian Assange's release
Despite the visit, support for Assange's release remains low in the US. If extradited, he could face a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
Australian journalists imprisoned in China anxiously await diplomatic breakthrough
Australian novelist Yang Hengjun has been awaiting the verdict on his case in China for more than two years after being accused of spying. Now he fears he may die in detention
‘I haven't seen a tree in three years’: An Australian journalist’s prison letter from China
"I miss the sun. In my cell, sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year. ... Most of all, I miss my children."
Hong Kong pro-democracy exiles not intimidated by China’s arrest warrants and bounties
"Trying to spread fear at home, abroad, and travelling in between. Further incentive to fight for the #rights, #freedom, and #democracy that we deserve"
Australian PM Anthony Albanese adds to growing political pressure to #FreeJulianAssange
The Australian PM has finally talked about Julian Assange ... and while distancing himself from Assange’s well-motivated actions, has said he has raised it with representatives of the US administration.
Policing the pandemic: Australia’s technology response to COVID-19
Australian governments approached the use of digital technologies from an ideological perspective, heavily leaning on control and surveillance.
Journalists call for the release of Cheng Lei who has spent a year in detention in China
"We are concerned about the chilling affect her arrest has on the practice of journalism, which has never been more critical."
Australian government on collision course with Facebook and Google over news revenue
"The code is justified by a News Corp lie, that Google steals news content and makes billions of dollars from it."
Julian Assange supporters rally to defeat extradition to United States
"The extradition to the US of a publisher and journalist, for engaging in journalistic activities while in Europe, would set a very dangerous precedent."
Another Australian university criticized for censoring voices supporting Hong Kong's human rights
An Australian university was criticized for deleting an article published on its website that urges the international community to put pressure on China for infringements on human rights in Hong Kong.
Groundswell of support to free Julian Assange around February extradition hearing
"Don’t be fooled: Julian Assange is a journalist, not a hacker, and the US wants to make his work—national security journalism—a crime"
Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun still detained by Beijing after six months
"Lawyers for Australian writer #YangHengjun, who has been detained in #China since January, are urging #Canberra to intervene."
Australia’s digital rights advocates and tech sector push back against law undermining encryption
"The new legislation directly targets encryption and basically coerces developers, device manufacturers and service providers to allow the government to spy on people’s encrypted data."
Police raids on major media organisations expose lack of press freedom in Australia
"These continued attacks on press freedoms in Australia should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Freedom of the Press to scrutinise the Govt is crucial to liberal democracy."
Censored in 2018: Protest videos, court verdicts, real news — and Peppa Pig
From blocked websites to revoked media licenses to account shutdowns, censorship comes in many forms. Here are a few we saw in 2018.
In Cardinal George Pell's sexual abuse trial, Australian court fails to suppress the ‘nation's worst kept secret’
"The alleged suppression order on #georgepell is allowing fake news and hearsay and speculation take the place of reputable news sources."
‘We Told You So': Australian Federal Police Accessed Journalist's Phone Records Illegally
Australian police have breached the law by accessing a journalist's phone records without a warrant in order to trace a leak.