In a government where suppression and prosecution of independent voices and whistle-blowers is now commonplace, it is timely for a wide-ranging inquiry into press freedom, or lack thereof, in Australia.

What form it would take - whether a government-run review of only the specific raids - or an independent examination by a parliamentary committee into the wider issues, is not yet apparent.

Senior frontbencher Mathias Cormann has said he is open to some sort of inquiry, but is yet to detail the government's specific preferences; while his Senate opposite number, Penny Wong, is for the latter.

Several senate crossbenchers, the media union, other politicians and those involved in accountability in the academia, have all backed an inquiry.

But on Tuesday, after a long weekend on which to dwell on such matters, some people have now begun protesting outside the offices of ministers, notably Communication Minister Paul Fletcher's.

The government has been clear that there was no direct ministerial line of sight over the most recent police raids, but the political climate it has created since 2013 have made the position clear to all members of the public service.

The police raids of the past week further hammer home either the willingness of the government to pursue whistle-blowers and reporters directly, or to allow federal police to do so.

In such a time, whistle-blowing - and the journalism that dissects leaked information in a responsible manner with a view to publication in the public interest - is ever more important.

If an inquiry of some sort is to be established into press freedom, it could also be tasked with examining the separate cases of Witness K, Witness X, and their lawyer, former ACT Attorney-General, Bernard Collaery.

These cases highlight the government's willingness to pursue public servants who get fed up and go public. Many of these brave souls do so as a last resort after trying and failing to raise concerns through woefully inadequate official channels.

Acts by public servants, revealing what could be war crimes in Afghanistan, or leaking information about yet another push by the intelligence agencies to increase their powers are of interest to, and affect the lives of millions of Australians.

There are at times good reasons to keep some sensitive information out of the hands of the public. But there are also times when the public good is overwhelmingly better served by releasing such information.

Public servants should be encouraged to report such issues in order to highlight and fix problems, or expose instances of wrongdoing or corruption, not be kowtowed into silence.

Yet the role of the media in helping select, refine and highlight the most important issues without threatening national security is also a crucial one in this age.

The inquiry could also look at the concentration of the local media landscape and effects of years of staff cuts on the media's ability to hold power to account.

If an independent inquiry is not forthcoming, yet more people considering blowing the whistle may put those plans on ice.

Perhaps that is what these raids were designed to do.