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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-09-25 Daily Xml
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Motions

Greste, Mr Peter

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.W. Weatherill:

That this house—

(a) condemns the conviction and sentence given to the Australian journalist Peter Greste and his colleagues from the Al-Jazeera network; and

(b) supports the commonwealth government in its diplomatic efforts to bring about a positive outcome for Mr Greste and his family.

(Continued from 2 July 2014.)

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (16:29): I rise today to support the motion by the Premier in this place which condemns the conviction and sentence given to the Australian journalist Peter Greste and his colleagues from the Al-Jazeera network and supports the commonwealth government in its diplomatic efforts to bring about a positive outcome for Mr Greste and his family. Nairobi-based Australian reporter Peter Greste and his Al-Jazeera colleagues Canadian-Egyptian Cairo bureau chief, Mohamed Fahmy, and Cairo producer, Baher Mohamed, have been in gaol since 29 December last year simply for doing their job.

For part of their detainment, they have been held in solitary confinement. Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy will face seven years in gaol, while Baher Mohamed faces a 10-year sentence. It is probably impossible to overstate the impact of their incarceration on the men and their families and loved ones. For the families concerned, this is a living nightmare. Still, despite the heartbreak scenario they face, Peter Greste's parents returned to Australia this week and spoke to the media with words of love for their son and expressions of hope for his release.

The interview with Lois and Juris Greste, which aired yesterday on ABC radio's The World Today, was totally devoid of bitterness, anger, blame or recriminations. The Grestes expressed great relief that their son is proving to be 'highly resilient, creative in one's use of time and opportunities and simply tough'. To Juris Greste, their fortnightly visits at the maximum security Tora Prison were 'stomach-churning'. However, the Grestes say that the outpouring of support for Peter is helping the family to carry on and that they draw most of their strength and energy from it.

During their visits, Peter presented his parents with a loaf of sourdough bread he had made and a birthday present of a frame containing a quote which proved an encouraging window into his state of mind. Juris Greste read the inspirational words in the frame: 'Like a diamond that can only be found when all that surrounds it is destroyed, by being threatened with annihilation we discover that which is indestructible within.' What courage and fortitude in the face of such a terrible situation.

Tellingly, the official Free Peter Greste website states, 'The Greste family bears no malice against the people of Egypt. May they have peace, security and prosperity.' Still, the arrest and gaoling of Mr Greste and his Al-Jazeera colleagues is a serious assault on the freedom of the press. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent non-profit organisation that promotes press freedom worldwide, in 2013 there were 211 journalists in gaol around the globe.

It was the second worst outcome in the 14 years the Committee to Protect Journalists had compiled statistics. Only 2012, with 232 journalists incarcerated, had a higher tally. Turkey was the country with most media workers detained last year with 40, while 35 journalists were in gaol in Iran and 32 in China.

The International Federal of Journalists (IFJ)—with which Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the journalists' union here in Australia, is affiliated—monitors press freedom violations and campaigns for safe working conditions for journalists and for a focus on those media workers at greatest risk. The IFJ is the world's largest organisation of journalists and represents about 600,000 members in more than 100 countries. It works for freedom of political and cultural expression and defends basic human rights.

The IFJ is the body which acts as the voice for journalists within the United Nations system and within the international trade union movement. It was a part of the campaign in June this year, during which senior Australian journalists labelled the Al-Jazeera trio's trial as 'farcical' and 'bizarre'. A media delegation presented a letter signed by 100 journalist unions and human rights advocacy groups to Egyptian diplomatic missions around the world, including the nation's consulate in Sydney. The letter was organised by the MEAA in partnership with the IFJ, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

In Australia, it was presented to Vice-Consul Ahmed Farid, along with a petition of more than 150,000 signatures which calls for Peter and his colleagues to be freed. The letter, in part, stated, 'Contrary to the charges, the three journalists have behaved ethically and responsibly while reporting on a complex, rapidly changing political environment in Egypt.' As Nelson Mandela once stated, 'A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy.'

We need to guard and protect the freedom of our media. Journalists should not live in fear or being gaoled and they should not curtail telling the truth for fear of being gaoled. I believe the freedom of the fourth estate (that is, the profession of journalism) in this country is closely linked to our success as a democracy. Indeed, quality journalism in which journalists abide by the code of ethics is vital to preserve and enhance democratic values. I will now read the words of Peter Greste from the Tora Prison in Cairo on 26 January this year:

…as a journalist I am committed to defending a fundamental freedom of the press that no-one in my profession can credibly work without. One that is deemed vital to the proper functioning of any open democracy, including Egypt's…

I support the Premier in calling upon Egypt to find a way of remedying this patent injustice which has been perpetrated on Peter Greste. I commend the motion to the house.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (16:35): Freedom of the press is something that we in Australia take for granted, but the moment you step outside of Australia the rules change, and as we are seeing with Peter Greste, the rules are certainly quite different. In Australia, the fourth estate and the political world often interact in friendly ways, useful ways and sometimes in antagonistic ways. The good thing about politics in Australia is that we can be quite open and honest with each other and we can talk about issues.

In November 2012, when the world championship surf lifesaving event was held in Glenelg, we had delegates from all over the world. There was an Egyptian delegation who came to the world championships in Glenelg, and I got to meet one of their officials, Dr Mohamed Saleh. Dr Saleh is an Egyptian member of parliament. In fact, I invited him to this place for lunch, and he came to watch question time and was acknowledged by the Speaker, which was good; he felt really good about that. We have kept in touch.

When the Greste decision was made, I contacted Dr Saleh and voiced my concerns and those of many of my constituents, and I think generally, the people of Australia. Dr Saleh did assure me in his reply that he would talk to the Egyptian President and let him know that we were concerned. In a follow-up contact with Dr Saleh, I was informed that the Egyptian President had in fact told Dr Saleh that they would not be doing anything that was extraordinary, but they would be making sure that there were no extra impediments in the way of the appeals process, so that this unfortunate man (Peter Greste) could hopefully be successful in his appeal and come home to his loved ones.

I heard Peter Greste's mother speaking on Radio National last night, after she had visited Peter in gaol. He is doing everything from cooking bread to undertaking yoga, learning Arabic and teaching English, so he is actually keeping up his mental health. He is also able to exercise in one of the corridors there to keep up his physical health. We hope that he does not endure the hardships and privations that I imagine would be part of an Egyptian corrections system, because I think that any fair person in Australia would say that he should not be there.

The Egyptian government is reluctant to interfere in an overt way, but I hope that through my approaches to Egyptian MP Dr Mohamed Saleh, a little bit of pressure has been put on the Egyptian government, however slight. I think it adds another brick in the wall of the pressure on the Egyptian government, and while I do not think I will be claiming credit for Mr Greste's release, if he is released shortly, I hope that my approaches are successful. I have contacted the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, to let her know that I have contacted Dr Saleh. I hope that we can see a reasonable outcome to this, and I think the reasonable outcome would be to see Peter Greste released and come back to his loved ones in Australia.

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (16:39): I rise today to speak in support of the motion that condemns the conviction and sentence given to Australian journalist Peter Greste and his colleagues from the Al-Jazeera network and supports the commonwealth government in its diplomatic efforts to bring about a positive outcome for Mr Greste and his family.

As someone who has spent more than 20 years in the media, can I say how important it is to have a strong, healthy and vibrant media. I think in this house we all understand how vital it is to have a media that is willing to tell both sides of every story and commend the professionalism of the journalists we deal with, whom we have in Adelaide and whom we deal with on a daily basis. No matter what their personal feelings are, they do give a balanced story from both sides of the event.

One of the things I have loved since coming into this place is the ability to freely stand here and speak my mind without fear or favour, to have the ability to disagree with those on the opposite side of the chamber and have great debate but then be able to leave this place and have cordial and congenial conversation for the betterment of the state. I think it is a truly wonderful thing that we have that democracy and that freedom both here in this house and also amongst the media. I think it is a blessing of this country that we live in, but sadly that freedom and understanding is not seen across all corners of the globe.

Despite my years in the media, I have not personally met Mr Greste, but I have met hundreds of journalists just like him and I have great respect for them all. Mr Greste grew up in Sydney with his two brothers and lived with the freedom to roam the streets and play throughout his formative years. He also learnt very early that he lived in a society where you were encouraged to speak up when you found a situation you did not agree with.

Mr Greste has had the support of thousands of journalists and media people across Australia and overseas. Mr Greste has worked with some of the most highly regarded media networks in the world throughout his career: the ABC, Reuters, CNN, BBC and even Network Ten here in Adelaide. More than 1,000 journalists, as I said, have signed a petition that has been given to the Egyptian Embassy in Canberra.

There has been quite an amazing social media push as well from a lot of high profile journalists, names like Karl Stefanovic, Deb Knight, Ben Fordham, Lisa Wilkinson, Larry Emdur, George Negus, Sandra Sully and even Adelaide's very own Rebecca Morse have gone public and taped their mouths or held their mouths closed in a silent protest for what has happened to Peter Greste. It has been amazing to see the media world unite behind this cause.

As I mentioned, I did not work with Peter, but I have worked with many people in the media who have. I have worked with a large number of people who have carried out similar work, people I respect and I know could just as easily have been in Peter's situation right now. A number of people whom I respect in the media as well have worked closely with Peter or had direct involvement with this. A few of them make some very poignant points, which I think can be mentioned here today.

One of those is a former mentor of mine, Peter Meakin, who is now executive director of news and current affairs at Network Ten. He has worked as the head of news at Channel 7, and also at Channel 9, and back in the day was in charge of the 60 Minutes program as well. He is a very well respected man in media circles and he calls this decision:

…a disgraceful decision. Reporting on any group's decision does not constitute endorsement. Our government should do everything it can to ensure the early release of Peter and his colleagues.

The network director of Seven News, Rob Raschke, says that the sentence '…shows just how dreadfully dangerous life must be for Egyptian journalists'. He also calls for an early release for Peter and his Al-Jazeera colleagues. The SBS director of news, current affairs and sport, Jim Carroll, another former colleague of mine, has come out publicly and said:

Freedom of the media to report on such critical events as those in Egypt is of paramount importance. As a network that focuses on coverage of international news SBS is obviously also concerned at the impact the court ruling could have on our own reporting efforts in the region.

I think that is a really valid point. I would also like to comment on what a colleague of Peter's, former ABC foreign correspondent Mark Colvin, said:

It is nothing short of ludicrous to me to suggest that he was doing anything in Cairo but report in the best traditions of honest journalism.

I hark back to our fortuitous situation in Australia for the fact that we do have journalists, and even though they may not agree with our side of politics, or even the opposition side of politics, when they report they do report wholeheartedly, covering both sides of the story. We can only encourage that fairness to continue for many years to come, or for eternity I might say, in Australia, to have that great understanding and the great ability to tell both sides of the story in the media

I would also like to acknowledge Peter's parents. As a parent myself, I hope my children grow up and move into the big, wide world one day and have exciting jobs. If they choose to work in the media, you would hope for them to be safe. I can only feel for his family, Juris and Lois, who are in their 70s. It must be incredibly draining on them. My heart goes out to them and also to Peter's brothers, Andrew and Mike. I know they have been spending a lot of time in Egypt. As the member for Torrens mentioned, they have been to visit Peter.

The member for Morphett also mentioned Peter's mental health. It would be very tough. He is stuck in a very small cell, only a few metres by a few metres, with a few other people. For a period of time, he was spending 23 hours a day in his cell, with only one hour outside, which is very hard on your state of mind. I do admire Peter and I wish him all the best. I hope we can get him out of this situation. For sharing the story, for telling the story as you see fit and for telling both sides of the story in equal favour, prison is not somewhere you should be as a journalist.

Again, my heart goes out to his family. The two members who spoke before me pointed out some of the things Peter is doing to look after his mental health. It is quite amazing, I think, to hear that he is baking sourdough bread. I heard his mother relate the story in an interview the other day. He has had to culture all the ingredients, and whatever, to make the sourdough bread. He is keeping himself highly stimulated. He is also doing an international relations degree at Queensland University through Griffith University. I commend them for helping to keep him stimulated in that way as well. I mentioned earlier that his family his spending a lot of time with him, making sure that he is kept in a good state of mind. I wish them well with their endeavours as we seek to secure his early release.

I conclude by saying how lucky we are to have the freedom we have in South Australia and in our country. We should not take that for granted when we look at other countries around the world that do not offer the same freedom and the same rights that we exercise in this country. I support the motion, and I hope we can get an early release for Peter Greste. I hope freedom of the press remains in this country forever.

Motion carried.

Sitting extended beyond 17:00 on motion of Hon. S.C. Mullighan.

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