On October 6, WA police requested the ABC to surrender footage captured for use in a documentary program, Four Corners, after the broadcaster recorded the planning of a protest outside the home of fossil fuel magnate Med O’Neill. The order was issued via the Order to Produce provisions of the WA Criminal Investigations Act., which carries a maximum punishment of 12 months in prison and a fine of AUD 12,000 (Approx. USD 7,700).
"Escalation: Climate, protest and the Fight for the Future" aired on October 9, investigating confrontations between climate activists, the state government, and energy companies over a natural gas facility expansion on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia. The program highlights escalating protest action, with a focus on the campaign of the Disrupt Burrup Hub advocacy group.
Four Corners was granted permission to attend two events organized by the Disrupt Burrup Hub, a public meeting and a training session, under the condition that would not appear in public footage and were to be granted anonymity. At least three individuals received assurances that their identities would not be shared before they were recorded.
MEAA, representing over 5,000 journalists and media professionals throughout Australia, has expressed their concern over the police’s demand to compromise source confidentiality, a violation of MEAA’s journalism code of ethics. On October 9, MEAA launched a petition to ABC Managing Director David Anderson and Chairperson Ita Buttrose, urging the ABC management to resist the order.
In May, the home of Ngaarda Media journalist Eliza Kloser was raided after the journalist took photos of sacred Aboriginal rock art moved to facilitate the construction of a Urea fertiliser plant on the Burrup Peninsula. Kloser was stopped by police while leaving the site of the proposed plant earlier that day.
MEAA said: “To be seen to be cooperating with the release of footage would not only be morally and ethically wrong; it would seriously damage the ABC’s reputation for creating valuable, public interest journalism and make the position of ABC journalists much more difficult. Journalism has a long and storied history of resisting legal compulsion when it is against the public interest. We demand immediate assurances that the ABC executive will not hand the vision to WA Police.”
The IFJ said: “Demands for a public broadcaster to release footage represent a significant overreach of power by police and present a distinct risk to press freedom. The IFJ urge Western Australian police to retract the Order to Produce, and respect source protection obligations.”