BY SARAH STEPHEN
Immigration department guidelines for journalists visiting immigartion detention centres state that they "may not interview any person who is detained under Australia's immigration law" and "will not photograph/film people in detention in a way that may be identifiable; noting that pixelling/blurring of faces is not sufficient". Furthermore, "an immigration officer will accompany participants at all times; participants (and their photographer/camera crew) must stay with the accompanying officer at all times".
The censorship gets worse: "Representatives of the [immigration] department will view the photographs/film for use with the resulting report/s, to ascertain that staff or people detained are not identifiable."
The "humanitarian" reasons for such restrictions: "The purpose of these requirements is not to restrict your ability to report on the centre, but to ensure that detainees are not identifiable in any way in order to protect their individual privacy and safety and, potentially, the safety of their families overseas."
Yet detainees who beg for media coverage of their actions are routinely ignored. This was part of a handwritten plea from Woomera hunger strikers on January 28: "We request the media to come inside and see the whole truth about persecution of people in the Australian Woomera refugee detention centre. We, the undersigned, request the media to be allowed into the camp to interview us on TV, radio and for newspapers so that we can tell our stories to the public."
ABC's Media Watch program on July 8 reported, "The Australian media is at last starting to object to this. Channels 7, 9, 10, the ABC and the Adelaide Advertiser all told Media Watch they were refusing to join a planned press visit to Woomera the other day because of these restrictions".
Few journalists are willing to break the rules. None investigated Ruddock's allegation that the hunger strike was over on July 9. In fact, it did not finish until the evening of July 11. Instead, many joined a carefully orchestrated "tour" of the new Baxter detention centre, near Port Augusta. Only SBS boycotted.
There were no restrictions on the media's assess to this detention centre — because there were no detainees there yet. The mainstream press dutifully reported Ruddock's claim that the Baxter jail was a "humane" detention centre; none explored how this claim was contradicted by it being surrounded by an alarmed, double perimeter fence electrified with a 9000-volt current.
There are nine fenced compounds within the detention centre surrounded by a "sterile zone" which activates security cameras and alarms if entered. There are isolation cells which are monitored by cameras 24 hours a day and surveillance cameras in every part of the centre except bedrooms and bathrooms.
Ruddock called the isolation block the "separation unit" and the electrified fencing "an energised detection and deterrent system". Such Orwellian double-speak ruffled few feathers in the media flock.
From Green Left Weekly, July 31, 2002.
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