Police Raids Aim To Intimidate Press

What is going on in Australia?

Eliza texted her Mum Geraldine with that question when she heard about the Australian Federal Police raiding a journalist Annika Smethurst's home in Canberra.

The next day, another Police raid was executed at the ABC HQ in Sydney.

Annika Smethurst's report in the Sunday Telegraph suggested Australia's surveillance agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, was seeking to broaden its powers to spy on Australian citizens without their knowledge. The ASD is meant to monitor actions overseas, not at home.

The ABC report related to allegations of unlawful killings committed by Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan.

Geraldine wants to know more about who called for the AFP raids and why. What concerns her most is that the warrant allowed for the deletion of files at the ABC, which is unprecedented.

The incident has made Eliza re-evaluate her feelings about Julian Assange and his possible prosecution in the US.

The women also discuss Geraldine's upcoming trip to Russia. Plastic surgery in Beirut. How to deal with summer holidays and some great movies on at the cinema in Australia.

Shadow Attorney General Mark Dreyfus on RN Breakfast https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/mark-dreyfus-condemns-scott-morrison-for-waving-away-afp-raids/11184308

If you're not worried about the raids on the ABC, you should be: Waleed Aly https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-you-aren-t-worried-about-the-abc-raids-here-s-why-you-should-be-20190606-p51v0h.html

NYT: Australia May Well Be the World's Most Secretive Democracy https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/world/australia/journalist-raids.html

Sam Maiden interiews the Defence Whistleblower https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/06/06/defence-whistleblower-secret-trial/

Red Joan – Judi Dench https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Joan

Absolutely Champers https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7807094/

Women at War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_at_War