Counter-terrorism laws according to News Corp in 2014: It's all Labor's fault!

Murdoch’s minions were in fine form in The Australian and the Herald Sun as the month began.

This piece on 2 August 2014 kicked the issue off with a fine example of mudslinging.

THE risk of terror attacks on Australian soil, including on public transport networks in capital cities, is significantly ­increased because the Gillard government downplayed a report on the dangers posed by returning home-grown jihadists.

The blunt assessment was ­issued yesterday by Anthony Whealy QC, the former judge who chaired a 2013 counter-­terrorism review and who sentenced Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf to five years’ jail.

He said an attack on a major railway station, such as Sydney’s Wynyard, would not take “a criminal mastermind” to engineer but could kill hundreds.

Mr Whealy, who chaired the Council of Australian Governments committee’s review of counter-terrorism legislation, said that when the report warning of serious attacks in Australia was presented to the Gillard government in March last year, it was held for two months and then quietly tabled on budget night in May.

His warning came as Tony Abbott revealed the government was considering tougher laws that could reverse the onus of proof for those returning from foreign battlefields, forcing them to explain why they had been in areas such as Syria and Iraq.

Later in the day Andrew Bolt made an attempt to whip up readers:

Labor is so in hock to Muslim voters in key marginal seats that I question whether it can be trusted with our national security.

He weighed in again with some more shock, horror, on 4 August:

Former judge Anthony Whealy QC chaired a 2013 counterterrorism review and said Labor sat on his report for two months before quietly tabling it on Budget night last year, when the media was too busy to notice.

Whealy’s report warned of exactly the threat the Abbott Government is now trying to counter, suggesting laws to force people returning from Syria and Iraq, for instance, to explain exactly what they’d been doing.

Whealy says “the response from the previous government you would have to say was slow”, but is Opposition Leader Bill Shorten embarrassed? Hell, no.

Now I recall this particular Council Of Australian Governments (COAG) report, so I was somewhat puzzled to find that my memory was playing tricks on me and that in fact what I had read was a wall-to-wall-warning to the Gillard Government of the urgent danger of home grown terrorism, which had been cravenly buried by government.

After all everyone knows News Corp never lies or gilds the lily – that its newspaper empire is a fortress of editorial integrity and journalistic ethics.

So imagine my 'surprise' when a handful of computer keystrokes brought forth this media release from May 2013:

Reviews of counter-terrorism laws released today

Posted May 14, 2013

14 May 2013

The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today tabled two important and detailed reviews of counter-terrorism and national security laws - the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Review of Counter-Terrorism Laws and the second annual report of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor.

“These reviews are part of the Gillard Government's commitment to protecting Australians, and ensuring national security and counter-terrorism laws are administered in a fair and balanced way,” Mr Dreyfus said.

The COAG Committee examined and made recommendations about the counter-terrorism laws enacted in the Commonwealth and the States and Territories following the 2005 London bombings.

The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor made separate recommendations about Commonwealth national security legislation, including the definition of a ‘terrorist act’, control orders, the preventative detention regime, and ASIO’s powers.

There is some overlap of the provisions that the Monitor and the COAG Review Committee reviewed.

The Government will respond to the reports following consultation with the States and Territories.

“There is no greater responsibility for a Government than protecting its national security. The Gillard Government takes National Security matters extremely seriously,” Mr Dreyfus said.

“Under Australia’s counter-terrorism framework four major terrorist attacks on Australian soil have been disrupted.

“In light of the recent terror attack in Boston, it is clear that it is as important now as it ever was to maintain strong capabilities in the fight against terrorism. Our counter-terrorism framework has held us in good stead so far, but we must remain vigilant.”

The Gillard Government created the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor to review Australia’s national security laws and counter-terrorism laws on an ongoing basis and determine whether they remain necessary, effective, proportionate and consistent with our international human rights obligations.

Both Reviews will be available online later this afternoon.

• COAG Review of Counter-Terrorism Laws
• Second annual report of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor

While typing Mr. Whealy’s name into Google and hitting the search button produced this piece from The Australian on 17 May 2013:

Mr Whealy, who chaired the Council of Australian Governments' review of the terror laws, recommended creating a corps of security-cleared lawyers, or "special advocates", to make it easier to contest a control order.

Other recommendations included requiring the security agencies to disclose information about their concerns to subjects of control orders and easing some of the conditions.

Mr Whealy rejected suggestions the report's 47 recommendations amounted to an overall watering down of terror laws, describing them as "a calculated, contemporary assessment" of a framework enacted in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, Bali, London and Madrid.

"If the government were to adopt what we've suggested, I think the laws would be still be effective to prevent a terrorist act in Australia," he said.

Now that assessment is much closer to how I recall the COAG Review of Counter-Terrorism report and its recommendations when it was released.

I remember one recommendation that made me smile at the time -  that relevant legislation should be amended to “create exemptions for providing training to or receiving training from a terrorist organisation for purposes unconnected with the commission of a terrorist act”.  I also thought rather generous the recommendation which included the hope that lawyers in this country be allowed to receive and hold funds from terrorist organisations for legal advice/representation of these organisations on the off chance that they might be involved in future civil/criminal proceedings.

And the revelation that the report alerted the Gillard Government to a heightened level of risk?  Well that claim is apparently based primarily on an unclassified ASIO submission which merely a gave broad brush assessment to the review committee and, was very old news by then.

In fact the national terrorism alert level has been set at Medium (terrorist attack could occur) since it was introduced in 2003.

So why are News Corp journalists getting all hot under the collar now? Of course! Prime Minister Abbott’s argument that counter-terrorism legislation needs to be tightened is best framed as Fixing Labor’s Mess.

One of Murdoch's minions attacks the ABC yet again

This was The Australian's Associate Editor (National Affairs), Chris Kenny, on 2 August 2014 telling readers that Aunty happy to ignore boat arrivals under Labor but cuts the Coalition no slack:

As the number of asylum boat ­arrivals escalated under the Gillard government there was significant self-censorship in much of the media. The national broadcaster, for instance, which has long held an almost obsessive preoccupation with the asylum-seeker issue and has a statutory duty to report matters of significance, often didn't find room in its news bulletins to tell us about boat ­arrivals.

When 14 boats arrived in the first week of May last year the relative lack of reporting on the ABC was astonishing….

I have listed all news items concerning asylum seekers that I could find which were published/broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and News Corp's The Australian in May 2013 – readers can decide for themselves if they believe the ABC deliberately withheld news of asylum seeker boat arrivals when compared with reporting by The Australian.

Reporting by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in May 2013 – as recorded by Google and ProQuest

Abbott modifying expectations on asylum seekers - Abc

www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2012/s3752076.htm

May 5, 2013 - Abbott 'modifying expectations' on asylum seekers. Print Email. Australian Broadcasting ...

Inside Detention: 07/05/2013, Behind the News - Abc

www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3749309.htm

May 7, 2013 - Normal News doesn't do that. If it is a really happy segment on the real news they make it really serious" - Hayley.

Flying squad wanted for unexpected boat arrivals - ABC ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-06/customs...boat-arrivals/4671754

May 6, 2013 - Flying squad wanted for unexpected boat arrivals. Updated May 06, 2013 11:41:24 ... carrying asylum seekers until it arrived just outside Geraldton. (ABC News).

Flying squad wanted for unexpected boat arrivals | ABC ...

www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013...boat-arrivals/1126364

May 6, 2013 - Customs is calling for the creation of a flying squad to help back up small offices dealing with unexpected boat arrivals, such as the asylum seekers who landed ...

'No advantage' policy may leave asylum seekers destitute ...

www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/...asylum-seekers.../4676448

May 8, 2013 - 'No advantage' policy may leave asylum seekers destitute: mental health experts. Download audio. Broadcast: ... 

Asylum seekers recaptured after fleeing centre - ABC News ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-11/asylum-seekers...after.../4683534

May 11, 2013 - Eighteen asylum seekers who escaped from a Darwin detention centre overnight ... Related Story: Asylum seekers escape from detention centre ....

Concern over aid raid to cover asylum costs - ABC News ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-11/aid-organisations...in.../4683472

May 11, 2013 - Aid organisations are bracing for cuts amid concern that Australia's overseas aid budget will again be used to house and feed asylum seekers

Indonesian police intercept asylum seeker boat

Roberts, George. ABC Premium News [Sydney] 12 May 2013. 

...water police have found an asylum seeker boat harboured in Bali that was
...water police have found an asylum seeker boat harboured in Bali that was
...boat voyage that killed 90 asylum seekers last year, has been found and arrested

Can either side of politics stop the asylum boats? - Election ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-13/is-stopping-the-boats.../4685444

May 13, 2013 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says a number of factors may be contributing to the current increase in asylum seeker boat arrivals, including the ...

Breaking the 'business model' of people smuggling - Abc

www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3757525.htm

May 13, 2013 - JAMES GLENDAY: Most asylum seekers pay people smugglers between $7,000 and $20,000 to get to Australia. And about 25,000 ... 

Asylum boat meets fiery end in Darwin

Sewart, Phoebe. ABC Premium News [Sydney] 13 May 2013. 

...An Indonesian ferry used by asylum seekers to reach waters off Darwin has been
... An Indonesian ferry used by asylum seekers to reach waters off Darwin
... It was carrying 160 asylum seekers who are now at the Wickham

Suspected asylum seekers found near NT airstrip - ABC ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-14/asylum-seekers...bay.../4689222

May 14, 2013 - ... resources and they're dealing with what is essentially the worst period of illegal boat arrivals that we have ever seen in our history." ... Connect with ABC News.

Charities overwhelmed by asylum seeker pleas - ABC News ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-15/charities-overwhelmed.../4692534

May 15, 2013 - Record numbers of boat arrivals have blown out the Government's asylum seeker budget by more than $3.2 billion. Since August, more than 18,000 asylum .

Asylum seeker needs overwhelm charities - 15/05/2013 - Abc

www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3760182.htm

May 15, 2013 - Weeknights on ABC1 and ABC News 24 ... LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Record numbers of boat arrivals have blown out the Government's asylum seeker ...

Asia-Pacific watching foreign aid in Australia's budget ... - Abc

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-15/an-budget-foreign-aid.../4690380

May 15, 2013 - Video: Winners and losers (ABC News) · Australian budget .... The budget says that the number of asylum seeker boat arrivals will increase next year. There has ...

Parliament excises mainland from migration zone - ABC ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-16/parliament-excises.../4693940

May 16, 2013 - Video: Parliament excises mainland from migration zone (ABC News) ... note graph shows the number of asylum seeker boat arrivals in Australia since 1976.

Boat arrivals by year graph - ABC News (Australian ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-16/boat-arrivals-by-year.../4694210

May 16, 2013 - A Parliamentary Library background note graph shows the number of asylum seeker boat arrivals in Australia since 1976.

New Australian law will send asylum seekers to Nauru or ...

www.radioaustralia.net.au/.../radio/...asylum-seekers-to.../1132032

May 16, 2013 - The Australian Government can now send all asylum seekers who arrive by boat to offshore processing centres.

Four of six escaped asylum seekers recaptured - ABC News ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-21/six-asylum-seekers.../4704448

May 21, 2013 - The Immigration Department of Immigration says four of six asylum seekers who ... Related Story: Asylum seekers recaptured after fleeing centre ....

Why are Vietnamese asylum seekers coming to Australia ...

www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/05/22/3764729.htm

May 22, 2013 - Vietnamese asylum seekers arriving in Australia are fleeing increased persecution in their home country, a VOICE advocate says.

Asylum seeker to be freed after ASIO overturns ruling - Abc

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-22/asylum-seeker-to-be.../4707258

May 22, 2013 - Fifty-four asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat are currently the subject of adverse security assessments. Manokala ....

Asylum seekers arrive by boat in Geraldton - ABC News ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-23/asylum-seekers-on...at.../4707698

May 23, 2013 - Asylum seekers arrive by boat in Geraldton ... The arrival of this boat carrying asylum seekers in WA's Geraldton harbour in April hastened the push ...

UNHCR takes Australia to task over migration zone changes ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-23/unhcr-asylum-criticism/4707534

May 23, 2013 - Photo: The arrival of this boat  carrying asylum seekers in WA's Geraldton harbour in April hastened the push to change the migration zone laws. ... The laws passed last week allow the Government to send asylum seekers who ....

Spies, security and sporting odds on Parliament's return - Abc

www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3768511.htm

May 27, 2013 - Weeknights on ABC1 and ABC News 24 ... primarily aimed at covering the blowout in visa security assessments that followed the spike in irregular boat arrivals.

Coroner rules no-one contributed to asylum seeker death

ABC Premium News [Sydney] 27 May 2013. 

...to the 2011 death of an asylum seeker in a detention centre on Cape York
...contributed to the 2011 death of an asylum seeker in a detention centre on Cape
...Pakistan before Mr Hussain sought asylum in Australia. He

Whistleblower claims AFP turned Christmas Island into ... - Abc

www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3769425.htm

May 28, 2013 - Weeknights on ABC1 and ABC News 24 ... The rebellion was the culmination of months of growing tension caused by a surge in boat arrivals, overcrowding, ...

Labor MPs to consider 'no advantage' for asylum seekers

www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3768622.htm

May 28, 2013 - Labor MPs will today discuss whether the Government should set out clearer information about how its no advantage policy for asylum seekers will be put in ...

Immigration Dept grilled on asylum seeker numbers - Abc

www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3769313.htm

May 28, 2013 - The Immigration Department has faced a grilling on a number of fronts today as it grapples with an increasing numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat ...

Department of Immigration breaks down $1.5 billion cost of ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-28/immigration...breaks.../4718730

May 28, 2013 - Related Story: Fears for asylum seekers after life jackets wash up on Cocos Island beach ... The Immigration Department says 231 asylum seekers have accepted taxpayer-funded repatriation packages to return to their home ....

Search continues for missing asylum seekers

Stewart, Phoebe. ABC Premium News [Sydney] 28 May 2013. 

... Note: Six Vietnamese asylum seekers who escaped from detention in Darwin
... Six Vietnamese asylum seekers who escaped from detention in Darwin remain on

Parliament tackles spying, hacking and electoral funding - Abc

www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3770440.htm

May 29, 2013 - Weeknights on ABC1 and ABC News 24 ... cent increase promised is primarily aimed at covering the blowout in security assessments for irregular boat arrivals.

Asylum seekers and the right to work - Life Matters - ABC ...

www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/.../asylum-seekers.../4718788

May 29, 2013 - So where are we at in terms of protecting asylum seekers? And how does the current no advantage system impact asylum seekers on mainland ...

25 immigration detention escapees still at large; The Immigration Department says 25 asylum seekers remain on the run after escaping from immigration or community detention this financial year.

ABC Premium News [Sydney] 29 May 2013. 

...The Immigration Department say 25 asylum seekers who have escaped from
...recently a group of Vietnamese asylum seekers escaped from detention in Darwin,

Senate hears Human Rights Commission's concerns over ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-29/human-rights...over.../4721390

May 29, 2013 - She has also questioned whether the information given to asylum seekers about their legal rights when they first arrive ... Department about the Government's new enhanced screening process for asylum seekers arriving by boat. ....

Asylum seeker in rooftop protest at Broadmeadows detention centre

ABC Premium News [Sydney] 30 May 2013. 

...are negotiating with an asylum seeker who has climbed onto the roof of the
...are negotiating with an asylum seeker who has climbed onto the roof of the

Indonesian Ambassador criticises Coalition's policy of ... - Abc

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/ambassador...boats/4726842

May 31, 2013 - The Coalition will push ahead with its policy to turn back asylum seekerboats despite an Indonesian government representative saying the proposal is not ...

Asylum seeker boats on Australia's horizon - The Drum ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/koser-afghanistan.../4725706

May 31, 2013 - Asylum seeker boats on Australia's horizon ... this September, I certainly wouldn't be raising false hopes about stopping boats any time soon. ....

Indonesia ambassador and Coalition at odds on turning ...

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/indonesia-ambassador.../4726714

May 31, 2013 - Indonesia ambassador and Coalition at odds on turning back boats policy. Updated May 31, 2013 19:00:00 ....

Indonesian Ambassador criticises Coalition's policy of ... - Abc

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-31/ambassador-says.../4726842

May 31, 2013 - Related Story: Fears for asylum seekers after life jackets wash up on Cocos ... Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema says boats should be turned back to the countries where asylum seekers are from, ....

Reporting by The Australian newspaper in May 2013 – as recorded by Google and ProQuest

Malaria fear as 250 join queue for asylum

Wilson, Lauren. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 02 May 2013: 2. 

... THREE large asylum-seeker boats together carrying
...in which 3112 asylum-seekers sailed to Australia
...Drurey revealed one young asylum-seeker, who was formerly

Ditch the UN Refugee Convention | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/national.../story-e6frgd0x-1226634223906

May 3, 2013 - And unregulated inflows of economic migrants and asylum-seekers are .....

Poor slugged for court fees as boatpeople get free ride

EXCLUSIVE. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 May 2013: 6. 

...has put the needs of asylum-seekers above the needs of Australian citizens
...government provides free legal advice for asylum-seekers. The cost
...ruled that offshore processing of asylum-seekers is subject to review by

No work rights for asylum-seeker families | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/national.../story-fn59niix-1226636706521

by Ben Packham - May 7, 2013 - There are more than 10,000 asylum-seekers in the community on bridging visas, .....

Labor's "greatest failing" - Chris Kenny Blog | The Australian

blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/.../theaustralian/.../labors_greatest_failin...

May 8, 2013 - Boat arrivals are reaching unprecedented levels, with more than 8,000asylum seekers arriving since the end of January when Julia Gillard announced the ..

Smugglers cram more women, kids on to boats | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...boats/story-fn9hm1gu-1226637230708

May 8, 2013 - The asylum-seekers, who were passengers on four separate boats, included 34 ......

'Catastrophe of social evil' awaits as rights cut bites | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...of.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226637157508

by Rick Morton - May 8, 2013 - Asylum-seekers arrive at Christmas Island yesterday, as it was announced families .....

Asylum ringleader gets six years' jail - EXCLUSIVE -

Alford, Peter. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 08 May 2013: 1. 

...year. The asylum-seekers, intercepted at Anyer, on
...the largest group of asylum-seekers to Australia over more than
...Zafar's network sent asylum-seekers with false papers through

Smugglers test limits of compassion | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/.../story-fn558imw-1226637914748

May 9, 2013 - Intended or not, Rudd's policy was an invitation to people-smugglers to expand their business plan and put people on boats to give Australia a try. Intellectuals ...

No sympathy from Julia Gillard for asylum-seekers in ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...asylum-seekers.../story-fn59niix-12266383...

by Ben Packham - May 9, 2013 - The Australian revealed thousands of asylum-seekers will be left in financial limbo when the government begins processing a huge backlog of claims under its ...

Boats target Darwin to exploit loophole | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/.../boats.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226637904226

May 9, 2013 - So far this year, 13 asylum boats have been intercepted near Darwin, a vast distance .....

Failing to protect our borders | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/...to.../story-e6frg71x-1226637906727

May 9, 2013 - THE arrival of asylum-seeker boats in Australian waters has become so commonplace it rarely figures in the news.

Smuggler Sayeed Abbas Azad wants to be sent home to ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...to.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226637949764

May 9, 2013 - ... thought to be responsible for sending at least 40 boats to Australia since 2008 and .....

Asylum-seekers abandoned to charity for basics | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/.../asylum-seekers.../story-fn558imw-12266388...

May 10, 2013 - Most of the asylum-seekers who have been driven to this condition of poverty and despair will go on to become permanent members of the Australian community ...

Labor split by hard line on refugee welfare

Wilson, Lauren. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 May 2013: 2. 

...issue bridging visas to asylum-seekers that strip away
...scheme payments to asylum-seekers who fail their primary
...campaign run by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in a

Asylum-seekers stand-off in Bali port ends | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/.../asylum-seekers.../story-fn59niix-1226641265...

May 13, 2013 - THE Bali port stand-off between 77 asylum-seekers and Indonesian authorities has ...

Salvos put aside funds to provide relief to hungry asylum ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...asylum-seekers/story-fn9hm1gu-12266415...

by Rick Morton - May 14, 2013 - THE influx of asylum-seekers in desperate need of support while living in the ...

Eleven asylum-seekers make landfall in Arnhem Land | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/.../asylum-seekers.../story-fn59niix-1226642380...

May 14, 2013 - ELEVEN asylum-seekers have made it by boat to Arnhem Land and will be transferred ...

Fears restrictions will see creation of an underclass

Wilson, Lauren. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 14 May 2013: 5. 

...advocates have warned that asylum-seekers released into the community without
...campaign co-ordinator at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said thousands
...few places to ensure all asylum-seekers had access to language training

Record arrivals rate forces $4bn spike in asylum bill | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...rate.../story-fnhi8df6-1226642542557

May 15, 2013 - With more than 3000 asylum-seekers arriving by boat a month and Labor's .....

I was a police informer, alleged people-smuggler Sayed ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/.../i.../story-e6frg6so-1226643269311

May 15, 2013 - Abbas is fighting his extradition to Australia, where authorities want to prosecute him on 27 charges related to people smuggling and three boats which were ...

Senate passes amendment to excise mainland from ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...to.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226644448709

May 16, 2013 - ... the migration zone and all asylum-seekers who arrive anywhere in Australia will be

Greens slam Labor over smuggler 'small fry' focus | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/national.../story-fn59niix-1226645640159

by Mark Schliebs - May 18, 2013 - ... to travel on boats to Australia -- instead of the heads of the smuggling syndicates. .....

Greens want to reverse vote on asylum visa rule | The ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...want.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226646324394

by Rick Morton - May 20, 2013 - More than 11,662 asylum-seekers are living in the community on bridging visas .....

Asylum self-harm linked to detention time | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/...self.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226647806354

May 21, 2013 - THE longer asylum-seekers spend in detention centres, the higher the rates of ...

Thousands of refugee applications stalled since introduction ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...of.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226651322528

May 27, 2013 - ASYLUM-seekers stuck in the remote detention facility on Nauru are now having their ...

Spike in unseaworthy boats as smugglers attempt to beat September poll - EXCLUSIVE -

Maley, Paul. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 27 May 2013: 1. 

...heightened fears many more asylum-seekers will be lost at sea
...to official concerns asylum-seekers are taking greater
...that were luring asylum-seekers to Australia. 

From asylum-seeker to people-smuggler | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au/news/.../story-e6frg6z6-1226653255546

May 30, 2013 - Iranians were among the asylum-seekers whose boat was stopped in Bali on the weekend. Picture: AP Source: AP. QASIM Ali says he was illiterate when he ...

Indonesia won't collaborate on Coalition policy of turning ...

www.theaustralian.com.au/...boats.../story-fn9hm1gu-1226654654928

May 31, 2013 - But he said asylum-seeker boats should be turned back to other countries, .....

Rupert Murdoch's plan to cripple public broadcasting in Australia is apparently still on track

The Sydney Morning Herald 27 July 2014:

A secret study of ABC operations has identified $60 million worth of potential savings, a finding the Abbott government will use to justify a new round of cuts to the broadcaster's budget.

Fairfax Media can also reveal the government is considering issuing directions to the ABC and SBS on managing their budgets - a move that would have the government exert greater influence over the broadcasters' operations.

The proposal is contained in the Abbott government's efficiency study into the ABC and SBS, which cherish their operational independence from government.

The government cut the ABC's budget by $35.5 million over four years in the May budget - a cut the government described as a ''downpayment'' on the results of the efficiency study.

The efficiency study, led by former Seven West Media chief financial officer Peter Lewis, says the government could encourage belt-tightening at the broadcasters by issuing a regular Ministerial Statement of Expectations to the ABC and SBS boards.

The study acknowledges the idea is ''controversial'' and could spark concerns the government is intervening in the ABC and SBS for political reasons….

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has insisted any future cuts should affect only back-office operations, not programming. ABC and SBS insiders dispute this and argue many of the study's savings proposals - such as moving SBS in with the ABC - are short-sighted and impossible to implement.

Earlier this month the ABC announced it would axe 80 jobs in its international division following the government's termination of funding for its $223 million Australia Network international broadcasting service.

How the Australian Broadcasting Commission competes with the Murdoch media empire according to Crikey on 3 December 2013:

The full extent of the ABC threat to News Corp isn't clear until you closely examine their competing activities.

First there's television, and the years-long saga of the ABC's Asia Pacific service, a national vanity project costing tens of millions a year, which the Howard government begged Jonathan Shier to take on in 2001. After the ABC began producing a reasonable, if low-cost, service, News coveted it for Sky News (of which News Corp has an interest via its holding in one-third owner BSkyB) to improve its international clout at taxpayer expense and tried twice, in 2005 and 2010, to win it, getting knocked back both times, although for very different reasons the second time around.

Then there's ABC News 24, a direct rival to Sky News itself and to News Corp's half-owned Foxtel, which carries Sky News. News 24 reaches about 14% of metropolitan audiences a week, far ahead of Sky News.

And free-to-air: Lachlan Murdoch's Ten Network has been regularly losing its third spot in the evening television ratings to the ABC. The ABC pointed out yesterday that it had lifted its prime-time share to a 14.6 share, up 1 percentage point from 2012 and the best performance of any free-to-air network this year. Ten's share fell and in fact spent all of 2013 behind the ABC, consigning it to fourth in metro markets, while its regional performance was even worse. ABC management has simply outclassed Lachlan's conga line of executives. The former head of ABC TV, Kim Dalton, was behind the suite of programs that enabled the ABC to have programs that viewers wanted to watch when Ten imploded in August of 2012, and continued to slide this year. Lachlan Murdoch has removed two CEOs and is now on his third in three years. Ten's problems are as much his problems as those of the poor decision making by former management.

Lachlan Murdoch also slashed and burnt the previous Ten management's carefully developed news and current affairs presence, at a time when the ABC was strengthening its position as the most trusted source of news for Australians across radio and television, far ahead of commercial broadcasters and newspapers — with News Corp's increasingly biased mastheads bringing up the rear as Australia's least-trusted newspapers.

"Plainly there are good leaks involving government secrets, which embarrass the ALP, and bad leaks, which make life difficult for the Coalition."

The ABC's online iView service is also a threat. It's now the most popular TV replay source online, and it competes directly, and for free, with Foxtel.

ABC Radio also competes directly with Lachlan's DMG radio stations in each state capital; Nova FM only beats the ABC's metropolitan local stations in Brisbane and Perth. And ABC Radio is planning a development that will not be greeted warmly by News or Ten or DMG Australia. Fairfax won't be happy either. In an email to staff two weeks ago, ABC Radio head Kate Dundas revealed that, among a long list of changes and new ideas, were state-based online news editions planned for 2014, a new e-mag for Radio National, a huge revamp of the Triple J Dig multiplatform, and a second online music stream for Classic FM.

Probably the most important will be the first version of the ABC audio player — the audio equivalent of iView. Podcasts for programs such as Conversations (which attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners a month) and RN programs will move to this new player site. ABC Radio Multiplatform also has a lot planned for 2014, with mobile versions of key sites like ABC Rural, Dig Music and ABC Local news sites.

The Sydney Morning Herald 12 June 2014:

Commercial television networks have leapt on the release of a Department of Communications research paper into Australian media ownership to renew calls for a relaxation of laws on media mergers and acquisitions.

The Abbott government is considering scrapping media ownership laws, including the law which prevents owners from controlling a newspaper, television station and radio station in the same market.

Andrew Bolt still incorrectly insisting his articles found to have breached Australia's Racial Discrimination Act were banned.

In September 2011 News Corp journalist Andrew Bolt was found to have contravened section 18C of the Australian Racial Discrimination Act in two published articles and, these articles were not exempt under section 18D of the same act.

Subsequently both Mr. Bolt and the Abbott Government have sought to characterise the judgement in Eatock v Bolt as an attack on a citizen’s right to freedom of speech:

“This is a terrible day for freedom of speech in this country.” – Andrew Bolt

Brandis is stinging about this case. The judge ‘engaged in an act of political censorship’, he says, with a journalist ‘prohibited from expressing a point of view’. – Australian Attorney-General Senator George Brandis 

Both are intent on repealing sections 18b, 18c, 18d and 18e of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

This is Andrew Bolt in 2014 furthering the notion that his published words were banned by the Federal Court of Australia.

In the Herald Sun, 12 March 2014:

I could prove that my banned articles argued against racism and racial division by republishing them - but the Federal Court has ruled that I may not. Mein Kampf can be published, but my articles fighting racism cannot.

In The Australian, 2 April 2014:

I should add that in banning two of my articles, the judge ruled my argument to be factually wrong in the case of those I mentioned.

In the Herald Sun, 20 April 2014:

But it’s not just global warming. Brandis said he was then horrified by “an act of political censorship” — a judge’s banning of two articles in which I questioned why certain fair-skinned Aborigines identified solely as Aboriginal.

The truth of the matter is that the original articles in question were neither banned nor their contents censored by the court.

In fact the court specifically allowed those two articles to remain online:

This Order does not prevent the Second Respondent from continuing to publish the Newspaper Articles on the Herald Sun website for historical or archival purposes, provided that such publication is accompanied by an  immediately adjacent and prominent publication of a corrective notice in the form of the annexure to these Orders and of the same or similar size.

Both 2009 articles are still available in their entirety on the Herald Sun website – here and here. The newspaper proprietor has now prefaced both with the court-ordered statement.

Andrew Bolt has used the strike key to alter the first online article, It’s so hip to be black (also titled White is the new black), so that the original despite looking almost as German as her father has turned into despite looking almost as German as her father name and had an English father has been altered to had an English a Scottish father.

However, in neither online article does it appear he has attempted to alter gross errors of fact identified in the judgment summary of Eatock v Bolt [2011] FCA 1103 (28 September 2011).

Therefore, Andrew Bolt’s articles dated 15 April and 21 August 2009 were never censored or banned.

Anyone with an Internet connection almost anywhere in the world can still read the ugly tripe he wrote.

The Abbott Government's response to the Federal Court judgment is a massive over-reaction not supported by a majority of the general public.

Bolt's freedom of speech is intact. His right to use words to publicly offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people¹ based on race, colour or national or ethnic origin² and, to employ untruthful facts and the distortion of the truth³ in order to do so, is not.

1. & 2. Wording found in Racial Discrimination Act 1975

3. The statement untruthful facts and the distortion of the truth is taken from the judgment summary of Eatock v Bolt [2011].