Australia's new Home Affairs super ministry would threaten press freedom by concentrating the surveillance powers of agencies with poor track records respecting free speech, the journalists union has warned.
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The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance spoke out against the radical shake-up that would shift Australian Border Force into the same departmental tent as the Australian Federal Police, ASIO and other agencies, saying the move would pool their powers to pursue whistleblowers and the press.
But the government says the changes won't affect journalists, and will strengthen oversight for the agencies moved into the new department.
While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week unveiled long-awaited plans for the ministry saying they will adapt the agencies to changes in national security threats, experts responded with mixed reviews.
MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy labelled the Home Affairs department to be led by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton a "one-stop shop for oppression of public discourse".
"The government's appetite for discovering all manner of inconvenient information including that which is plainly in the public interest, shows no sign of being whetted," he said.
"We now have a situation where the militarised Australian Border Force, with its extreme powers to imprison whistleblowers now sits alongside ASIO, with its ability to imprison journalists and their sources for up to 10 years.
"These two agencies will now sit together with the Australian Federal Police which in April admitted it had illegally accessed a journalist's telecommunications data without a warrant.
"It seems the only law reform the government is interested in is re-doubling its efforts to punish those who dare speak out in the public interest," he said.
A government spokesman denied the Home Affairs portfolio would affect journalists.
"Oversight and accountability will actually be strengthened, with the Attorney-General signing warrants and taking on responsibility for oversight capabilities," he said.
A government source said the reforms announced last week involved no change to legislation preventing whistleblowers from leaking information or journalists reporting ASIO's special operations.
An Essential Media poll released on Tuesday found most people or 56 per cent of those surveyed supported the creation of a Home Affairs ministry.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is leading the reforms with a taskforce to create the ministry by early 2018.
The MEAA's comments come as experts raised concerns the creation of Home Affairs will put the AFP under the same departmental umbrella as the people and agencies they are investigating in partnership with the integrity commission.
