CANBERRA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has advised the nation's federal police to consider the importance of press freedom before investigating reporters.
Peter Dutton on Friday issued a ministerial direction to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after the agency came under fire following the raids of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) headquarters and the home of News Corp Australia journalist Annika Smethurst in June.
"A key function of the AFP is the enforcement of the criminal law, without exception," he said in a statement on Friday night.
"However, I expect the AFP to take into account the importance of a free and open press in Australia's democratic society and to consider broader public interest implications before undertaking investigative actions involving a professional journalist or news media organization in relation to an unauthorized disclosure of material made or obtained by a current or former Commonwealth officer."
As an alternative to raids, he suggested that AFP officers "exhaust alternative investigative actions" including voluntary cooperation for those under investigation.
Federal police in June raided Smethurst's Canberra home and the ABC in Sydney over separate stories based on leaked classified information.
Under the Australian law, any person who receives or communicates a secret document without permission can face up to seven years in prison.
Following the raids, Australian media bosses joined forces to demand that the government protect the press and drop the investigations, a move that Dutton has repeatedly ruled out.
Responding to Dutton, Kristina Keneally, the Opposition Australian Labor Party's home affairs spokesperson, described the move as "cowardly".
"This is a cowardly act. Mr Dutton has announced what he 'expects' of the AFP," she said, "Australians, including journalists, media executives and the public, have demanded guarantees from the Government and all Mr Dutton has given them is window dressing."
