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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
2019-2020-2021
The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Presented and read a first time
Illegal Detention of Australian
Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
No. , 2021
(Mr Christensen)
A Bill for an Act relating to the detention of
Australian journalists by foreign governments, and
for related purposes
No. , 2021
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
i
Contents
1
Short title .............................................................................. 1
2
Commencement .................................................................... 1
3
Definitions ............................................................................ 2
4
Offence of detaining Australians for legitimate journalistic
activities ............................................................................... 3
5
Release from Australian custody .......................................... 5
6
Transitional provisions ......................................................... 5
No. , 2021
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange)
Bill 2021
1
A Bill for an Act relating to the detention of
1
Australian journalists by foreign governments, and
2
for related purposes
3
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
4
1 Short title
5
This Act is the
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free
6
Julian Assange) Act 2021
.
7
2 Commencement
8
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table
9
commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with
10
Section 3
2
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
No. , 2021
column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect
1
according to its terms.
2
3
Commencement information
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Provisions
Commencement
Date/Details
1. The whole of
this Act
The 28th day after this Act receives the
Royal Assent.
Note:
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally
4
enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of
5
this Act.
6
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act.
7
Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it
8
may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
9
3 Definitions
10
In this Act:
11
detained
includes:
12
(a) arrested; and
13
(b) imprisoned.
14
engage in conduct
means:
15
(a) do an act; or
16
(b) omit to perform an act.
17
foreign country
includes a part of a foreign country.
18
journalism
includes publishing.
19
journalistic activity
includes the following conduct:
20
(a) conduct engaged in:
21
(i) in the ordinary course of journalism; or
22
(ii) for the purposes of journalistic endeavours;
23
Section 4
No. , 2021
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
3
(b) receiving information as a journalist, including as mentioned
1
in the definition of
journalist
in section 126J of the
Evidence
2
Act 1995
;
3
(c) requesting information as a journalist;
4
(d) publishing information received as a journalist.
5
legitimate journalistic activity
means journalistic activity that
6
would not be an offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of
7
a State or Territory if engaged in in that State or Territory.
8
requests
includes encourages, incites, procures or pressures.
9
4 Offence of detaining Australians for legitimate journalistic
10
activities
11
(1) A person commits an offence if:
12
(a) the person is the head of government of a foreign country;
13
and
14
(b) the government of the foreign country:
15
(i) detains an Australian citizen; or
16
(ii) requests the government of another foreign country to
17
detain an Australian citizen;
18
because of legitimate journalistic activity engaged in, or
19
allegedly engaged in, by the Australian citizen.
20
Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years.
21
(2) A person commits an offence if:
22
(a) the person is the head of government of a foreign country;
23
and
24
(b) the government of another foreign country requests the
25
government of the foreign country mentioned in
26
paragraph (a) to detain an Australian citizen; and
27
(c) the government of the other foreign country makes the
28
request because of legitimate journalistic activity engaged in,
29
or allegedly engaged in, by the Australian citizen; and
30
Section 4
4
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
No. , 2021
(d) the government of the foreign country mentioned in
1
paragraph (a) detains the Australian citizen because of the
2
request.
3
Penalty: Imprisonment for 7 years.
4
(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)(c) and (d), the reason
5
for which a government detains, or requests the detention of, an
6
Australian citizen must be determined by reference to the real and
7
underlying cause of the detention or request rather than by the legal
8
form employed.
9
Example: Journalists are often arrested on the basis of charges of espionage or
10
for other spurious, political reasons when the real reason for their
11
detention is their journalistic activities.
12
(4) For the purposes of subparagraph (1)(b)(i), if:
13
(a) an Australian citizen is detained for contravening, or
14
allegedly contravening a law that is ancillary to another law;
15
and
16
(b) the other law relates to conduct engaged in, or allegedly
17
engaged in, by the Australian citizen; and
18
(c) that conduct is legitimate journalistic activity;
19
the detention is taken to be because of the legitimate journalistic
20
activity.
21
Example: An Australian citizen is charged with engaging in conduct that
22
constitutes legitimate journalistic activity. He or she is released on
23
bail, but is subsequently arrested for not complying with a conduction
24
of that bail. For the purposes of subparagraph (1)(b)(i), the Australian
25
citizen is taken to be detained for engaging in the legitimate
26
journalistic activity rather than for breaching the bail conduction.
27
(5) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of this section, conduct engaged
28
in by:
29
(a) an agent of a government; or
30
(b) another person acting on behalf of, on the orders of, or under
31
the authority of, a government;
32
is taken to be engaged in by the government.
33
Example: A private security company engaged by a government.
34
Section 5
No. , 2021
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
5
(6) Section 15.4 of the
Criminal Code
(Extended geographical
1
jurisdiction--category D) applies to an offence against
2
subsection (1) or (2) of this section.
3
5 Release from Australian custody
4
(1) If:
5
(a) an Australian citizen is detained as described in
6
subsection 4(1) or (2); and
7
(b) the Australian citizen is transferred to the custody of the
8
Commonwealth, a State or a Territory (for example, in
9
accordance with the
International Transfer of Prisoners Act
10
1997
);
11
the Commonwealth, the State or the Territory must immediately
12
release the Australian citizen from custody.
13
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the reasons the Australian citizen
14
person is held in custody by Commonwealth, the State or the
15
Territory include an offence, or an alleged offence, against a law of
16
the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
17
6 Transitional provisions
18
(1) If an Australian citizen:
19
(a) was detained as mentioned in subsection 4(1) or (2) before
20
the commencement of this Act; and
21
(b) was not released from that detention before that
22
commencement;
23
then, for the purposes of section 4, the Australian citizen is taken to
24
be detained as mentioned in that section on that commencement.
25
(2) For the purposes of this Act, conduct engaged in by Julian Paul
26
Assange for the purposes of WikiLeaks before the commencement
27
of this Act is
legitimate journalistic activity
.
28
(3) Section 5 applies to an Australian citizen who:
29
Section 6
6
Illegal Detention of Australian Journalists (Free Julian Assange) Bill
2021
No. , 2021
(a) was transferred to the custody of the Commonwealth, a State
1
or a Territory before the commencement of this Act and was
2
not released from custody before that commencement; or
3
(b) was transferred to the custody of the Commonwealth, a State
4
or a Territory on or after the commencement of this Act.
5