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Thursday, October 04, 2018 5:08:27 AM
Australia jointly responsible for Nauru's draconian media policy, documents reveal
""Australia's detention centres ruin lives"
Time to tell the truth before I'm gagged: Australia's detention centres ruin lives "
Exclusive: Revelation comes despite repeated denials Australia has any say about journalists’ visas
Helen Davidson
@heldavidson
Wed 3 Oct 2018 22.00 EDT
Last modified on Thu 4 Oct 2018 01.41 EDT
For more than five years Nauru has refused almost all media requests to obtain a
visa to visit the island. Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images
The Australian government is jointly responsible for Nauru’s media access policy for the immigration detention centre, departmental documents reveal, despite claims for years that it is solely an issue for Nauru.
The Australian government has repeatedly claimed it has no involvement in Nauru’s decisions around media access and specifically its repeated refusal to Australian outlets.
But the previously unpublished official arrangements, tendered to federal court as part of an affidavit in a Nauruan medical transfer case, reveal the notoriously restrictive media policy to be a joint effort.
Pacific Islands Forum: what is it and why have some media been banned?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/02/pacific-islands-forum-what-is-it-and-why-have-some-media-been-banned
“The governments of Australia and Nauru will agree to a media and visitor access policy and conditions of entry,” the document said. “Media seeking access to centre will be required to obtain permission from the [Nauruan] secretary for justice and to sign a media agreement.”
[...]
In 2014 the Nauruan government raised the application fee for a media visa from $200 to $8,000. The fee is not refundable even if the application is rejected. In recent years only the Australian, Sky News and Channel Nine’s A Current Affair have been granted access, and many other organisations have been turned down even before officially lodging an application.
The Sky News journalist Laura Jayes – whose application fee was waived by the Nauru government – has previously said she was told the high fee was specifically to discourage the ABC and Guardian Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/04/australia-jointly-responsible-for-naurus-draconian-media-policy-documents-reveal
Trump attacks media and judiciary, limits FBI Kavanaugh investigation, and ongoing efforts to shut down Mueller. All enabled by the GOP.
Australian conservatives acting like tin-pot despots in concert with undemocratic Nauru. Conservatives undermining democracy worldwide.
-
Nauru: a nation in democratic freefall propped up by Australia
Nauru president Baron Waqa at the Pacific Islands Forum in Sydney in 2015. His nation’s economic relationship is seen by many as one of client state and patron.
Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Anne Davies and Ben Doherty
Sun 2 Sep 2018 14.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 2 Sep 2018 20.06 EDT
Judges have been sacked, opposition politicians jailed and citizens’ rights eroded. Human rights advocates say there has been a breakdown in the rule of law on the Pacific island
More - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/nauru-a-nation-on-the-cusp-of-democratic-calamity
""Australia's detention centres ruin lives"
Time to tell the truth before I'm gagged: Australia's detention centres ruin lives "
Exclusive: Revelation comes despite repeated denials Australia has any say about journalists’ visas
Helen Davidson
@heldavidson
Wed 3 Oct 2018 22.00 EDT
Last modified on Thu 4 Oct 2018 01.41 EDT
For more than five years Nauru has refused almost all media requests to obtain a
visa to visit the island. Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images
The Australian government is jointly responsible for Nauru’s media access policy for the immigration detention centre, departmental documents reveal, despite claims for years that it is solely an issue for Nauru.
The Australian government has repeatedly claimed it has no involvement in Nauru’s decisions around media access and specifically its repeated refusal to Australian outlets.
But the previously unpublished official arrangements, tendered to federal court as part of an affidavit in a Nauruan medical transfer case, reveal the notoriously restrictive media policy to be a joint effort.
Pacific Islands Forum: what is it and why have some media been banned?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/02/pacific-islands-forum-what-is-it-and-why-have-some-media-been-banned
“The governments of Australia and Nauru will agree to a media and visitor access policy and conditions of entry,” the document said. “Media seeking access to centre will be required to obtain permission from the [Nauruan] secretary for justice and to sign a media agreement.”
[...]
In 2014 the Nauruan government raised the application fee for a media visa from $200 to $8,000. The fee is not refundable even if the application is rejected. In recent years only the Australian, Sky News and Channel Nine’s A Current Affair have been granted access, and many other organisations have been turned down even before officially lodging an application.
The Sky News journalist Laura Jayes – whose application fee was waived by the Nauru government – has previously said she was told the high fee was specifically to discourage the ABC and Guardian Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/04/australia-jointly-responsible-for-naurus-draconian-media-policy-documents-reveal
Trump attacks media and judiciary, limits FBI Kavanaugh investigation, and ongoing efforts to shut down Mueller. All enabled by the GOP.
Australian conservatives acting like tin-pot despots in concert with undemocratic Nauru. Conservatives undermining democracy worldwide.
-
Nauru: a nation in democratic freefall propped up by Australia
Nauru president Baron Waqa at the Pacific Islands Forum in Sydney in 2015. His nation’s economic relationship is seen by many as one of client state and patron.
Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Anne Davies and Ben Doherty
Sun 2 Sep 2018 14.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 2 Sep 2018 20.06 EDT
Judges have been sacked, opposition politicians jailed and citizens’ rights eroded. Human rights advocates say there has been a breakdown in the rule of law on the Pacific island
More - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/03/nauru-a-nation-on-the-cusp-of-democratic-calamity
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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