Xenophon and Wilkie join forces to protect journalists and their sources

XENOPHON AND WILKIE JOIN FORCES TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS AND THEIR SOURCES

WHAT: Media conference with Senator Nick Xenophon, Andrew Wilkie MP and Attorney-General, Robert McClelland MP
WHERE: Senate Courtyard, Parliament House, Canberra
WHEN: 12:30pm EST / Tuesday 28 September 2010 (TODAY)

Independent Senator for South Australia, Nick Xenophon, and Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, have secured Government support to protect journalists from being forced to reveal their sources.

“Journalists should have the right to protect sources who provide information to them which is in the public interest,” Nick said.

“This Bill will give them that right, ensuring greater protections for the journalists and their sources, as well as better information for the community.”

Senator Xenophon and Mr Wilkie met with Attorney-General, Robert McClelland MP, last week to discuss the legislation.

“Our discussions with the Attorney-General were open and constructive and I am impressed that we have been able to reach consensus on this issue,” Andrew said.

Mr Wilkie will this week give notice in the House of Representatives that he will introduce the Private Member’s Bill to amend the Commonwealth’s Evidence Act.

“The Bill is based on New Zealand legislation which has a presumption in favour of the journalist that they should not reveal their sources,” Andrew said.

Senator Xenophon says under the provisions of this Bill, it will be incumbent on parties seeking disclosure of the source to prove that the public benefit in revealing the source outweighs the harm to the source.
“This is about protecting every citizen’s right to information. This is about protecting the public’s right to know,” Nick said.

“If you read a newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, watch the 6 o’clock news bulletins or public affairs programming, this Bill will go a long way to protecting the quality of information we receive.”

Meanwhile …

From Black Inc. Books:

Axis of Deceit: The Extraordinary Story of an Australian Whistleblower
Andrew Wilkie

In the 2010 federal election, independent candidate Andrew Wilkie grabbed headlines after winning the seat of Denison, and with it a key role in deciding who would form the next government of Australia. Before he was a politician, however, Wilkie was Australia’s most talked-about whistleblower.

In March 2003, Wilkie resigned from Australia’s peak intelligence agency in protest over the looming war in Iraq. He was the only serving intelligence officer from the ‘coalition of the willing’ – the US, the UK and Australia – to do so, and his dramatic move was reported throughout the world.

Wilkie’s act of conscience put him on a collision course with the Australian government.

Why was he willing to risk his career and reputation to tell the truth?

What happened when he decided to take a stand? In Axis of Deceit, Wilkie tells his story. He exposes how governments skewed, spun and fabricated intelligence advice. And he offers a rare glimpse into the world of international intelligence and life as a spook. With a brand-new preface, this is the fascinating inside story of a man now set to play a pivotal role in our public life.

Axis of Deceit: The Extraordinary Story of an Australian Whistleblower is a new expanded edition, which includes a new preface by Andrew Wilkie, and an article about Black Inc.’s dramatic legal battle to publish the book, which involved the Attorney General’s office and ASIO.

‘A glimpse into the world of the modern spy’ The Age ‘Clear-eyed and persuasive’ The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Impressive’ The Canberra Times

Andrew Wilkie was a lieutenant colonel in the Australian Defence Force before he joined the Office of National Assessments as a senior strategic analyst. After leaving ONA, he gave evidence at the official British and Australian inquiries into the case for the Iraq war. He contested John Howard’s seat of Bennelong for the Greens in the 2004 federal election. In 2010 he stood successfully as an independent for the federal seat of Denison in Tasmania.

ISBN: 978-0-977549-496-2 • RRP $24.95
29 September 2010 Release •
Black Inc. Agenda