The owners of The Canberra Times say they are "gravely concerned" over an "unacceptable" police raid on the Canberra home of one of its journalists this morning.
Australian Federal Police arrived without warning at the inner-north home of the paper's National Affairs Correspondent Philip Dorling at 8.30, investigating allegations of the leaking of official secrets.
The seven federal agents backed by two computer experts and armed with a search warrant, arrived at Dorling's Braddon doorstep demanding access to documents relating to a story published in the newspaper on June 14 this year.
The article, Revealed: our spy targets, exposed Australia's espionage efforts directed at China, North Korea and our Allies, South Korea and Japan.
Dorling's story quoted material from classified briefing papers prepared for Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon shortly after last year's election and gave a rare insight into the activities of Australia's secretive Defence Intelligence Organisation.
The AFP officers, from the force's Economic and Special Operations group and led by Federal Agents Suzanne Evans and Mick Turner, spent more than five hours searching Dorling's house for documents relating to the report, while the computer experts combed the reporters' laptop and home computer hardrives.
They seized a laptop, a computer hard drive, a mobile phone, documents and a copy of The Canberra Times from June 14, which were all taken back to AFP National Headquarters in Civic for examination.
The AFP raided Dorling's home once before searching for the source of a leak in September 2000, when the journalist was working as a staffer for the then Labor foreign affairs spokesman, Laurie Brereton.
The editor of The Canberra Times, Peter Fray, said, "Phil Dorling was doing his job - the job of every journalist, and that is to reveal the truth".
And Fairfax Media's Corporate Affairs boss Bruce Wolpe said the company was "gravely concerned".
"Fairfax Media is gravely concerned by this legal assault on one of our journalists for doing his job.
"A Federal police raid on the home of a journalist cuts to the heart of the operation of a free press, and is unacceptable.
"We have long advocated the need for shield legislation to protect the public's right to know and today's disturbing events show once again that enactment of a Federal shield law is imperative."