Signatory Letter of Recommendation for Babysitter Made Easy

Signatory letter of recommendation for babysitter

[Music] [Music] hello everyone and welcome back to the ramsay center's online lecture series for 2020 i'm simon haynes and today we return to a vital theme which has recurred frequently in our lectures this year and last namely freedom and the various kinds of threat to freedom currently facing us in the west and elsewhere now today speaker is going to focus on freedom of the press a topic that i must say is close to my own heart including as a long-time resident of hong kong now perhaps the greatest in indeed the founding document concerning freedom of the press is john milton's magnificent polemic against licensing and censorship of the press dating from 1644 called the areopagitica give me the liberty to know to utter and to argue freely according to conscience above all liberties he wrote the fourth estate as it was reputedly named by edmund burke or at least carlisle said it was burke though others speculate that it may have been the brilliant essayist and journalist a great favorite of mine william haslet anyway whoever it was that coined the term the fourth estate ever since it was first recognized as a political force has proudly stood for that grand liberal principle to utter and to argue freely according to conscience so today we've invited as our guest speaker a leading representative of the fourth estate in australia ita buttrose was appointed the chair of the abc last year and of course she's long been one of the most familiar and respected figures on the australian media scene she's held executive and editing roles for major australian media companies including australian consolidated press news limited fairfax she's run her own media company capricorn publishing she served on the boards of australian consolidated press of news corp australia and of network 10 she's worked in print radio and television and she's written 11 books and of course as many of us will remember she was the founding editor of the path breaking magazine cleo in 1972 and she later became editor of the australian women's weekly she was inducted into the australian media hall of fame in 2017. a founding member and former president of chief executive women ita is a committed community and welfare contributor she chaired arthritis australia from 2003 to six and later alzheimer's australia now dementia australia from 2011 to 2014 and she's now the national ambassador for dementia australia she's also chair of the australian mental health prize advisory group she's been a member of the sydney symphony council since 2010 and served as a trustee of centennial and moore park trust in sydney from 2012 to 2020 she's a member of the australian institute of company directors the ramsey center is very pleased to welcome ita batros to speak to us on the abc democracy and the importance of press freedom i'm pleased we've been asked to deliver this lecture so welcome to you all wherever you may be i'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians on the lands on which we are meeting and pay my respects to their elders past present and future my topic today is the abc democracy and the importance of press freedom why a free and independent media is crucial to the functioning of a strong democracy what are the barriers to press freedom both here in australia and overseas the abc is almost 90 years old since it was established in 1932 it has become an essential part of australian democracy yet its future appears to be under threat there are calls to defund the abc to even privatize it why what is it about public broadcasting that those who wanted to fund it claim is not in the best interests of a democracy like australia the abc is crucial to australian democracy it's the voice of australian democracy in fact it is free of political and commercial influence it delivers on a statutory charter without fear or favor so why are some individuals and some commercial media outlets campaigning loudly for its demise don't they understand the value of public broadcasting i fear not countries that have popular well-funded public broadcasters encounter less extremism and corruption and have more press freedom in april this year the un secretary general warned members of the security council of the rise of right-wing extremists who would promote division civil unrest and even violence to achieve their objectives the increase in right-wing global terrorism is not just an american problem the security council's counter-terrorism committee says there has been a 320 increase in right-wing terrorism globally in the five years prior to 2020 when roberto suarez kandel head of strategy immediate intelligence at the european broadcasting union addressed the abc board last year he shared with us research that showed the positive contribution of public service media such as the bbc for instance to democracy and society the report revealed the impact strong publicly funded television and radio had on virtual turnout control of corruption and press freedom particularly after brexit and the corresponding rise of firewire right policies across europe public service media that is strong and well funded is not only about providing people with news documentaries and entertainment it's also about contributing to democracy roberto said public service tv tends to be most watched in countries with a strong democracy strong democracies tend to invest more in public service media the european broadcasting union's research was able to show for the first time how these factors are connected later in an interview with the guardian roberto said one of the core functions of public service media is to deliver news which is independent well it's supposed to be anyway if they have appropriate resources they can invest in journalism and provide more quality news and the audience will trust them more a nation's democratic health relates to the strength of its public service media which contributes to democracy through news editorial standards and informed citizenship lately the campaign against the abc has become more strident it appears to have gone up a notch this year and this development concerns me recently one of our detractors said there was a need to curb the spread of public broadcasters into every technical logical and programming niche they should be ring fenced into set stations networks and rolls lest they crowd out a thousand flowers in a thousand digital nations i thought my goodness is the abc being equated to a weed elsewhere left-wing critics accuse us of being patsies for the conservative causes and the same commercial interests who seek to tear us down the old adage still holds that if you're offending everyone you must be doing something right the broader point is this regardless of whether you consider your politics to be right left or centrist you should support the institutions that promote democracy and the free exchange of ideas and this includes public broadcasters some of the groundbreaking journalism the abc has produced on issues such as live cattle exports and the greyhound industry have been singled out by our critics as proof that abc journalists run agendas and campaigned against private enterprise what malicious garbage the four corners program on cruelty on the live cattle exports trade led to a ban on live exports and an inquiry into the industry while revelations about cruelty in the greyhound racing industry led to a special commission of inquiry by the former new south wales world's premier mike baird and a subsequent racing ban in new south wales and the a.c.t until the industry had cleaned up its act since when was exposing the rot deemed wrong such stories are not some part of or some kind of agenda or campaign against private enterprise as has been alleged they represent important public interest reporting by journalists intent on revealing the truth last month i represented the abc at the funeral of one of the abc's finest truth-tellers the journalist and broadcaster paul murphy in one of the videos that looked back at his distinguished career he said i hope public broadcasting stays as strong as it has over my career it is essential to democracy and indeed it is public service broadcasting is vital for the health of our society we need news that is free from political and commercial pressure for the health of our system it is fundamental to community well-being the abc is there for the public to use and to provide the public benefit although the benefit any individual or community may derive from us may be different for instance abc's children's television has been fondly regarded by many as the choice of babysitter parents everywhere have turned to us for that service that public benefit is funded by taxpayers out of taxation revenue and is appropriated by government and just as people's tax dollars do not necessarily relate directly to their own individual consumption or benefits but provide instead benefits for society as a whole funding for the abc has wide and far-reaching benefits for all taxpayers in the same way a childless couple's taxes support the school system the healthy pay for the public hospitals even when they are not sick together we fund national parks although we may never set foot in one governments or governments know the benefit of public broadcasters and how society would be diminished if they did not exist so why are calls to defund the abc being given oxygen i cannot envisage an australia without the abc and i feel confident in saying that most australians feel the same way there was a time when commercial media publicly recognised the value of the abc when we celebrated our 75th birthday in 2007 the sydney morning herald wrote just try to imagine australia without a national broadcaster you can imagine australia but not this australia the character of this australia owes much to the abc no other institution reaches as many australians or touches so many so profoundly the national broadcaster not only helps fashion australian life it is a deeply personal part of innumerable individual lives the ongoing erosion of commercial media's local news and information content in our capital cities and also our regional and rural areas creates an even bigger demand for the services of a public broadcaster like the abc often the way that concentrated commercial media organizations such as the nine group and news corp present their news is skewed it often reflects the views of their editors or proprietors or the perceived preferences of their audiences and advertisers and that's fine that's the way it is and that's the way they do it and it works for them at the same time they also break news stories and expose corrupt behavior there's room for all of us with our differences and our expertise and our flaws but as i've already pointed out the abc is free from commercial and political pressure and is accountable to the public and that's the clear distinction i suspect many politicians see journalism as a business just another market to be managed for instance earlier this year the government asked the a triple c to balance market forces and arbitrate the case against facebook and google and come up with a framework forcing them to pay media companies for monetizing their news content when it's posted on social media back in the 70s the american political activist ralph nader said a well-informed citizen is the lifeblood of democracy in order for australians to be as well informed as possible enabling democracy to thrive australia needs a securely funded public broadcaster and a vibrant commercial media working alongside each other for the good of the community and our nation the truth is the abc has always operated alongside commercial broadcasters commercial radio stations were in place long before the abc was created the abc was expected to both compete and complement those commercial services in the early years we did not have our own news service the news was instead bought from australian press proprietors like sir keith murdock father of rupert and in 1936 the abc's federal news editor urged the abc to appoint its own news gathering service almost immediately sir case newspapers began calling for a reduction in the abc's license fee the way we were funded then on the basis that the abc news service would constitute in proper competition clearly his thinking has influenced his son rupert murdoch who is very much a chip off the old block the abc's critics both commercial and ideological are relentless in attacking the abc calling it to be defunded or sold off they persist in trying to make us part of the cultural debate that most australians do not find relevant or helpful public broadcasters around the world face a similar lines of criticism and assaults on their existence by commercial enterprises that claim public broadcasting services are no longer necessary most australians disagree with this line of thought in the uk the bbc faces the government arguably more hostile than any other government in living memory spurred on by the same commercial media knockers the british government is using the policy levers of financial support to strip away the bbc's range of services at a time when independent journalism matters more than ever the bbc is managing with cumulative budget cuts that have seen a 30 percent reduction in funding since 2010 the abc will stand strong against similar attacks and remain steadfast to the founding idea of a public broadcaster serving australians with news entertainment and information and education to reflect the breadth of our nation 2020 has confirmed what our audiences want and expect a public broadcaster that will meet their critical needs just as the abc charter demands they want a public broadcaster that will add value to their lives public broadcasting is about providing these distinctive programs that australians young and old left and right rich and poor wherever they live both want and need our purpose is to provide a balance between broadcasting programs of wide appeal as well as specialised interest there's much discussion about our funding yes we want the indexation pause lifted yes we would like certainty about our enhanced news gathering funds and yes we would like an increase in emergency broadcasting funding but the abc is not just a taxpayer expense item it also contributes to the australian economy something that is rarely acknowledged on an annual basis the abc contributes one billion dollars to australia's economy this figure which is on a par with the public funding of the of the corporation if you include transmission costs is based on a report that the abc commissioned from deloitte access economics of the one billion dollars more than a third is economic support for the broader media ecosystem the abc boosts activity across australia much of the content commissioned by the abc has the majority of its production and expenditure outside the metropolitan areas of sydney and melbourne in the last three years the abc has leveraged 180 million dollars worth of production activity into stories and production reflecting regional locations and or themes and 280 hours of content for australian audiences representing regional australia stateless with cate blanchett was shot in augusta south australia operation buffalo was also shot in south australia total control was filmed in canberra and central west queensland our bat winger was shot in the northern territory rosehaven near hobart in tasmania and the heights in perth and vincent in wa we get around as i have mentioned there is a strong link between healthy democracies and strong public service media so it was a bleak day a very bleak day for democracy and media freedom when the australian federal police made the decision to raid the offices of the abc it was a calculated move clearly designed to intimidate i doubt though that the afp expected such strong reaction from the media and australians generally who have long valued but perhaps taken for granted a free press the raid was unprecedented both to the abc and to me it was an extremely serious development and raised legitimate concerns about freedom of the press and proper public scrutiny of national security and defense matters it was also a direct contravention of the accepted premise that an untrammeled media is important to the public discourse and to democracy it is the way in which australian citizens are kept informed about the world and the impact on their daily lives the afp's actions did nothing for australia's reputation overseas either in the days following the raids the new york times decreed that australia may well be the world's most secretive democracy no other developed democracy holds us tight to its secrets wrote the times the raids are just the latest example of how far the country's conservative government will go to scare officials and reporters into submission some leaders don't need much encouragement to do this outgoing u.s president donald trump declared journalists to be the enemy of the people dare i say mr trump that's fake news journalists are truth tellers they uncover facts and figures that the powerful in our community would like to hide journalism takes them to places that few are permitted to go journalists are people who make a difference the afp raid on the abc took place on june 5 2019. on october 15 2020 federal police confirmed that our journalist dan oaks would not be prosecuted over his reporting on alleged war crimes carried out by australian special forces in afghanistan this followed the same decision made regarding sam clarke in july of this year both he and dan worked on the story at the center of the raid the afghan files it's more than three years since the abc published the afghan files factual and important reporting that exposed allegations about australian soldiers committing war crimes in afghanistan its accuracy has never been challenged and it remains online for audiences to read what the commonwealth director of public prosecution's decision does highlight is the fact that a proper evaluation of whether the actions of a journalist were in the public interest was not made until more than three years had passed since the program in question was actually broadcast and not prior to executing a search warrant or requesting the journalist to submit for fingerprinting it would benefit everyone if a decision on that fundamental issue could be made at a much earlier stage not surprisingly australia has suffered a global decline in press freedom in the annual world press freedom index published in april this year by reporters without borders australia ranked 26th out of 180 countries a five-spot drop since last year in august this year the federal government's parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security released its interim report on the inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law enforcement and intelligence powers on the freedom of the press while the committee recognized the need for significant legal changes to protect public interest journalism its recommendations do not go far enough they do not provide adequate protection for journalists and fail to ensure that journalists are not sent to prison for doing their job they don't protect whistleblowers from this possibility either the report does contain a number of positive recommendations the committee recognized the value and importance of public interest journalism to australia and endorsed the introduction of the public interest advocate scheme this would oversee media search warrants with an express requirement the public interest journalism and the protection of confidential sources among the relevant factors to be considered before a warrant is issued while the abc believes that contested warrant hearings would be a more effective option the changes proposed cannot happen soon enough the abc did challenge the warrant that followed the afp raid and the outcome of the proceedings showed the current laws are entirely inadequate with the federal court confirming that those issuing search warrants had no obligation to consider either the importance of press freedom or the protection of confidential sources the abc intends to continue to push for reforms that protects journalists and their sources australia is one of the few western democracies that doesn't have press freedom written into its constitution i support the establishment of a media freedom act that would compel policy makers to take media freedom into account when drafting national security legislation but also gives the courts a benchmark when they are adjudicating on cases that touch on press freedom i have spent my career most of my life in fact in the media i got my journalism cadetship when i was 16. like other journalists and editors i've held sacred the importance of freedom of the press and the rights of journalists everywhere to serve the public interest hold the powerful to account and ensure as best we can that our democratic rights are protected and never taken for granted the current state of press freedom both here and around the world is worrying journalists are being arrested detained and in some cases killed for doing their job journalism can be a dangerous profession visas are being weaponized by some countries to control information and shield dubious practices from global scrutiny while legislation is increasingly being used to intimidate and silence journalists and their sources i've always believed that press freedom matters because the act of journalism is more than merely a profession it exists as a fundamental structure for the public good upon which our democracy depends we need journalism that is vigorous and relentless in the pursuit of truth to serve the public we need journalists who are prepared to stand defiant in the face of authority and intimidation there are several recent examples of what intimidation of the press looks like last month under dramatic circumstances the abc was forced to bring home bill bertels our foreign correspondent who left china after receiving advice from australia consul officials concerning his safety in that country at first bill didn't take the warnings about his safety seriously flew it in mandarin he'd been reporting on china for the abc for five years but when at midnight the chinese state security police knocked on his door he realized he was no longer safe in china he was informed he was a security issue and banned from leaving the country the australian financial reviews mike smith had a similar late night visit both men took refuge at the australian embassy in beijing while australian officials negotiated for them to leave the country safely however before bill was allowed to leave he was required to subject to a late night interview at a hotel not far from his apartment where he was questioned by three police officers he describes the interview as superficial an act of intimidation that in no way served to gather information about any particular story or case about which he might have had knowledge bill's china reports will be missed they've been informative and well crafted and important for australia's understanding of china as a major trading partner and superpower he says his departure is part of a bigger trend accelerated by beijing's increasing pursuit of a narrative exclusively on the communist party's terms it is a pursuit that will leave both australians chinese and the world less informed and less understanding of each other these actions represent a new low for press freedoms in china previously no foreign media journalists have been subjected to exit bans and police interviews for national security cases it comes after 19 journalists from the new york times wall street journal and washington post were expelled earlier this year chinese state media reporters have also been made to leave the united states as relations between those two countries have soured for the first time since 1973 the abc has no accredited journalists working in china our china bureau is a vital part of the abc's international broadcasting and news gathering service and we hope to get back there as soon as possible as china's relationship with australia and our role in the region is important to our future these events have gained international attention european leaders have voiced their increasing concerns about china's crackdown on press freedom while businesses have warned of an investment exodus western journalists still operating in china have voiced their concerns about increasing surveillance by local security forces china is not an isolated case and the global task force for public media of which the abc is a signatory has documented a range of increasingly intimidatory tactics being used against journalists and public broadcasters around the world for instance in poland the sudden removal of a song critical of the governing party from the playlist of the polish public broadcasters music radio station in may this year renewed debate about media freedom and political interference in poland's media and recent reports of the polish state media corporation's coverage of the presidential election indicate that it is being increasingly pressurized by the state a post-election report by the organization for security and cooperation in europe published in june this year even stated that it acted as a campaign vehicle for the incumbent in recent months representatives of slovenia's largest and the most powerful government party have been openly attacking the nation's public broadcaster these attacks have increased in the wake of investigative reporting on aspects of the government's response to the covert 19 pandemic government representatives are now openly threatening personnel changes and drafting legislation that would reduce the broadcaster's funding in the czech republic recent appointments to the council overseeing the public television service have included a number of individuals who stands towards the broadcaster has been highly political these members have sought to downplay and cast doubts on the achievement of the service particularly during budget evaluations and when assessing the performance of its leadership hong kong's public broadcaster which is established under a charter that guarantees its editorial independence is being subjected to a government review of its management and practices the review not only lacks independent oversight but closely follows the suspension of a popular long-running current affairs program after hong kong police complained about a satirical segment as the scope of these organizations to independently inform public debate is curtailed by excessive government control so too is the public benefit they can deliver and the level of trust that citizens place in them by weakening vital democratic institutions in this way democracy itself is weakened within these nations in america there have been an estimated 800 press freedom incidents since the beginning of the black lives matter protests in may including police harassments and arbitrary arrests and in both the united kingdom and canada the increasing prominence of calls to defund both the bbc and the cbc are concerning to the ongoing strength of press freedom in this extraordinary year of the coronavirus we can't overlook the effect of covet 19 and its impingement on press freedom the covert 19 pandemic has allowed elements of the police state to occur as the world fights one of its greatest health challenges a recent submission by the university of melbourne's covid democracy project to the senate inquiry into nationhood national identity and democracy recommended that urgent government action is needed to remedy the stark impact of the pandemic on independent media and public interest journalism since the coveted 19 crisis engulfed the country and brought much activity to a standstill analysis by the australian newsroom mapping project has indicated that 200 media outlets has quote have closed or merged nationally increasingly sections of australia have become media deserts especially at local levels with serious implications for australian democracy this lack of media presence milit will militate against australia having informed citizens able to engage in democratic practices it will affect the need for informed government at all levels and reduce transparency in and scrutiny of government and state institutions and agencies the history of the role of the media in australia is a story of fearless journalism and robust press freedom regardless of whether that journalism is practiced at the abc or through commercial media outlets good journalism can pack a powerful punch like the letter penned by keith murdock which played a key role in ending the gallipoli campaign a timely recollection as yesterday november 11 was armistice day the gallipoli letter as it was called was 25 pages long and written by keith murdock during world war one when he was the australian journalist association's official war correspondent at the same time our government had asked him to check on issues of concern regarding supplies and to investigate alleged mismanagement of mail sent to australian soldiers serving in the gallipoli campaign murdoch cabled his letter a report really to the then prime minister andrew fisher it was highly critical of the allied conduct of the dardanelles campaign and the shocking conditions facing australia australia's troops it established gallipoli as both a disaster and a place of national sacrifice and then there's the power of investigative journalism investigative journalists persist in seeking the truth no matter what obstacles they encounter journalists working for the abc flagship program four corners have exposed corrupt practices and shonky behaviour that has often resulted in royal commissions four corners is the longest kind of investigative journalism current affairs program in australia and celebrates its 60th anniversary next year it was four corners journalists who uncovered police corruption in in queensland that led to the royal commission the fitzgerald inquiry into illegal activities and associated police conduct and led to the resignation of the premier joe jockey peterson and the the and the then police commissioner ended up in jail after four corners journalists revealed the involvement of the french government in the bombing of the rainbow warrior the flagship of the greenpeace fleet in auckland harbour the government there called it a criminal act the french government implemented its own commission of inquiry journals go where others fear to tread the world would be poorer without them more recently four corners journalists exposed crooked advisors dodgy deals and misconduct in the banking superannuation and financial services that led to the banking royal commission they exposed the shocking neglect abuse and understaffing in aged care in australia's aged care facilities which led to the current royal commission into aged care quality and care four corners searched for truth and institutional abuse of children resulted in the long overdue royal commission into child sexual abuse all of these stories rely on the freedom of the press none of them would have been possible without a media culture that protects the rights of journalists to seek out the truth and serve the public interest the abc has an obligation to report to the public on stories of public interest independently fairly and impartially a securely funded public broadcaster providing good journalism is essential to a properly functioning democracy journalists are not the enemy of the people as president trump would have people believe they are seekers of facts and keepers of secrets they scrutinize and search they ask questions that make politicians of powerful people sometimes uncomfortable they confront them with unpleasant truths to which they must provide an answer the abc is australia's most trusted national institution we have built this trust over many generations we have a long and stable relationship with our audience the abc is brand australia we value the trust that australians place in us we value the responsibility that comes with being australia's public broadcaster and we value our independence as australia's public broadcaster as the public broadcaster responsible to and a platform for the people of australia the abc is one of the linchpins of our democratic society it is not designed to make those under scrutiny feel comfortable it exists to provide checks and balances and hold those in power to account and as such it is the voice and therefore the embodiment of australian democracy thank you we are indeed fortunate to have been able to hear this wide-ranging and instructive lecture on public broadcasting democracy and the role of press freedom around the world from the chair of the abc ita buttrose on your behalf my warm thanks to her for agreeing to speak to us and thank you all for listening do please join us again soon this is simon haynes saying goodbye for now [Music] [Music]