Peter Cave

Foreign Affairs Editor, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Balibo 5 ,2007.

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The Balibo Five: Greg Shackleton (clockwise from top left), Tony Stewart, Gary Cunningham, Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters. Photo: RSF

✤Australian News Media Safety Code

✤ The Australian News Safety Group, which developed the code, are the ABC, SBS, News Ltd , Fairfax Media, the Seven, Nine and Ten networks and AAP.

✤ The Australian News Media is committed to the safety and well-being of news personnel in the pursuit of their profession in Australia and overseas. It recognises that covering news will sometimes entail a higher than usual degree of risk. It also recognises that in some circumstances such as conflict, civil unrest or natural disaster, the complete safety and security of newsgathering personnel cannot be guaranteed. This is acknowledged by news management and by the journalists and all news personnel who accept such risk. Nevertheless, news organisations must strive to eliminate unnecessary risk and should apply the highest standards of risk management.

✤ The aim of this code is to improve safety for staff, freelance and all news personnel through a commitment by news organisations to common safety principles for newsgathering. These principles have been developed by the Australian News Safety Group, based on the Safety Code of the International News Safety Institute.

INSI Safety Code

✤ The International News Safety Institute is dedicated to the right of all journalists to exercise their profession free from persecution, physical attack and other dangers to life and limb. While recognising that some conditions under which journalists and media staff work never can be completely safe and secure, INSI will strive for the elimination of unnecessary risk, in peace and in war. It will draw on the expertise of its members and supporting organisations to lobby on behalf of working journalists everywhere who embrace the INSI Code of Practice and confront physical or psychological barriers to the free and independent gathering and dissemination of news

✤ The INSI safety code ✤

1. The preservation of life and safety is paramount. Staff and freelancers equally should be made aware that unwarranted risks in pursuit of a story are unacceptable and strongly discouraged. News organisations are urged to consider safety first, before competitive advantage, for journalists in hostile environments.

2. Assignments to war and other danger zones must be voluntary and only involve experienced news gatherers and those under their direct supervision. No career should suffer as a result of refusing a dangerous assignment. Editors at base or journalists in the field may decide to terminate a dangerous assignment after proper consultation with one another.

3. All journalists and media staff must receive appropriate hostile environment and risk awareness training before being assigned to a danger zone. Employers are urged to make this mandatory.

4. Employers should ensure before assignment that journalists are fully up to date on the political, physical and social conditions prevailing where they are due to work and are aware of international rules of armed conflict as set out in the Geneva Conventions and other key documents of humanitarian law.

5. Employers must provide efficient safety equipment and medical and health safeguards appropriate to the threat to all staff and freelancers assigned to hazardous locations.

6. All journalists should be afforded personal insurance while working in hostile areas, including cover against personal injury and death. There should be no discrimination between staff and freelancers.

7. Employers should provide free access to confidential counselling for journalists involved in coverage of distressing events. They should train managers in recognition of traumatic stress, and provide families of journalists in danger areas with appropriate and timely advice on the safety of their loved-ones.

8. Journalists are neutral observers. No member of the media should carry a firearm in the course of their work.

9. Governments and all military and security forces are urged to respect the safety of journalists in their areas of operation, whether or not accompanying their own forces. They must not restrict unnecessarily freedom of movement or compromise the right of the news media to gather and disseminate information.

10.Security forces must never harass, intimidate or physically attack journalists about their lawful business.

The Australian News Media Safety Code

✤ 1. The preservation of life and the management of safety are paramount. News organisations should make clear to news personnel that unwarranted risks in pursuit of a story are unacceptable and strongly discouraged. News organisations should consider safety first, before competitive advantage.

✤ 2. Assignments to war and other danger zones and hazardous assignments must be voluntary and news organisations should only assign experienced news gatherers or those under the direct supervision of experienced personnel.

✤ 3. Either an editor at base or news personnel in the field may decide to terminate an assignment in a danger zone or other hazardous assignment.

✤ 4. News organisations should monitor the safety and well-being of news personnel in the field who, in turn, should keep editors informed of safety and security developments.

✤ 5. News personnel should receive appropriate safety and risk awareness training before being assigned to a known danger zone or on other hazardous assignments.

✤ 6. News organisations should ensure that news personnel being assigned to war and conflict zones are aware of the international rules of armed conflict as set out in the Geneva Conventions and other relevant international humanitarian law.

✤ 7. News organisations should ensure that news personnel familiarise themselves with the political, physical and social conditions in the areas where they are due to work.

✤ 8. News organisations should ensure that news personnel familiarise themselves with relevant laws or regulations that restrict freedom of movement and the right to interview and take photographs or film during an assignment.

✤ 9. News organisations must provide safety equipment and medical and health safeguards appropriate to the threat to news personnel assigned to danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

✤ 10. News organisations should ensure that news personnel have appropriate financial cover (e.g. insurance) against personal injury and death while working in danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

✤ 11. News organisations should provide free access to confidential counselling for news personnel involved in coverage of traumatic events and for their immediate families. They should train personnel and managers in recognition of post traumatic stress.

✤ 12. News organisations should ensure the immediate families of news personnel have access to appropriate and timely advice on the safety of their loved ones in danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

✤ 13. Journalists and other news personnel are neutral observers and the neutrality of news personnel is an essential safeguard. No member of the news media should carry a firearm in the course of their work.

✤ 14. News organisations agree to work together to maintain common standards in safety training for news personnel and to share information and expertise to improve the overall level of safety throughout the industry.

✤ 15. News organisations will actively participate in bodies such as the Australian News Safety Group, the International News Safety Institute (INSI) or other news industry bodies dedicated to improving safety and security.

✤ 16. News organisations will co-operate in lobbying governments, the police, military forces, and other groups, when necessary for the safety of news personnel and to safeguard their ability to gather and report news.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 1. The preservation of life and safety is paramount. Staff and freelancers equally should be made aware that unwarranted risks in pursuit of a story are unacceptable and strongly discouraged. News organisations are urged to consider safety first, before competitive advantage, for journalists in hostile environments.

✤ 1. The preservation of life and the management of safety are paramount. News organisations should make clear to news personnel that unwarranted risks in pursuit of a story are unacceptable and strongly discouraged. News organisations should consider safety first, before competitive advantage.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 2. Assignments to war and other danger zones must be voluntary and only involve experienced news gatherers and those under their direct supervision. No career should suffer as a result of refusing a dangerous assignment. Editors at base or journalists in the field may decide to terminate a dangerous assignment after proper consultation with one another

✤ 2. Assignments to war and other danger zones and hazardous assignments must be voluntary and news organisations should only assign experienced news gatherers or those under the direct supervision of experienced personnel.

✤ 3. Either an editor at base or news personnel in the field may decide to terminate an assignment in a danger zone or other hazardous assignment.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 3. All journalists and media staff must receive appropriate hostile environment and risk awareness training before being assigned to a danger zone. Employers are urged to make this mandatory.

✤ 5. News personnel should receive appropriate safety and risk awareness training before being assigned to a known danger zone or on other hazardous assignments.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 4. Employers should ensure before assignment that journalists are fully up to date on the political, physical and social conditions prevailing where they are due to work and are aware of international rules of armed conflict as set out in the Geneva Conventions and other key documents of humanitarian law.

✤ 6. News organisations should ensure that news personnel being assigned to war and conflict zones are aware of the international rules of armed conflict as set out in the Geneva Conventions and other relevant international humanitarian law.

✤ 4. News organisations should monitor the safety and well-being of news personnel in the field who, in turn, should keep editors informed of safety and security developments.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 5. Employers must provide efficient safety equipment and medical and health safeguards appropriate to the threat to all staff and freelancers assigned to hazardous locations.

✤ 9. News organisations must provide safety equipment and medical and health safeguards appropriate to the threat to news personnel assigned to danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 6. All journalists should be afforded personal insurance while working in hostile areas, including cover against personal injury and death. There should be no discrimination between staff and freelancers.

✤ 10. News organisations should ensure that news personnel have appropriate financial cover (e.g. insurance) against personal injury and death while working in danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 7. Employers should provide free access to confidential counselling for journalists involved in coverage of distressing events. They should train managers in recognition of traumatic stress, and provide families of journalists in danger areas with appropriate and timely advice on the safety of their loved-ones.

✤ 11. News organisations should provide free access to confidential counselling for news personnel involved in coverage of traumatic events and for their immediate families. They should train personnel and managers in recognition of post traumatic stress.

✤ 12. News organisations should ensure the immediate families of news personnel have access to appropriate and timely advice on the safety of their loved ones in danger zones or on other hazardous assignments.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 8. Journalists are neutral observers. No member of the media should carry a firearm in the course of their work

✤ 13. Journalists and other news personnel are neutral observers and the neutrality of news personnel is an essential safeguard. No member of the news media should carry a firearm in the course of their work.

INSI vsAustralian Safety Code

✤ 9. Governments and all military and security forces are urged to respect the safety of journalists in their areas of operation, whether or not accompanying their own forces. They must not restrict unnecessarily freedom of movement or compromise the right of the news media to gather and disseminate information.

✤ 10.Security forces must never harass, intimidate or physically attack journalists about their lawful business.

✤ 16. News organisations will co-operate in lobbying governments, the police, military forces, and other groups, when necessary for the safety of news personnel and to safeguard their ability to gather and report news.