Ban on reporters covering union dinner described as a ‘two-fingered salute to the working media’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The journalists’ union has lodged a formal complaint with the Australian Council of Trade Unions after reporters covering the union congress in Brisbane were banned from a dinner that included an address by the opposition leader, Bill Shorten.

The peak union body has refused to explain why it barred industrial relations reporters from the event for the first time. “The congress dinner was a private ticketed event for delegates and was not open to the media,” an ACTU spokesman said.

Fairfax Media’s workplace editor, Anna Patty, said it was rude as some journalists had travelled interstate to cover the event.

The Australian’s workplace editor, Ewin Hannan, freelance journalist Mark Skulley, AAP journalist Matt Coughlan, David Vincent from Workplace Express and the Australian Financial Review’s David Marin-Guzman were all excluded from the dinner.

Anna Patty (@AnnaPattySMH) The IR journos have been banned from the ACTU Congress dinner for the first time in memory - even after we all travelled interstate to cover it. #rude https://t.co/KWPKXGkuQ0 #ACTUcongress18

“MEAA has registered a complaint with the ACTU over the exclusion of journalists from the ACTU congress dinner in Brisbane last night which prevented them from reporting opposition leader Bill Shorten’s speech delivered at the dinner,” the media union said in a statement on Wednesday. “Journalists have also had restricted access to other events at the congress.



“Several industrial relations reporters have been excluded, despite many travelling from interstate to report on the congress.”

Ewin Hannan (@EwinHannan) .@withMEAA registers complaint with ACTU over “absurd’’ decision to ban media from attending Bill Shorten’s address to the #ACTUCongress18 dinner last night. @australian https://t.co/jZL8t6iFNV pic.twitter.com/l7kxLBz5GC

The MEAA media section president, Marcus Strom, said it was the first time anyone could recall journalists being excluded from the congress dinner.

“It is particularly absurd as journalists are being locked out while attendees are inside live-tweeting and posting to social media,” Strom said.

“The ACTU is an important organisation. A speech to the ACTU delivered by the alternative prime minister is an important event. The exclusion of journalists trying to do their job should not have happened and it shouldn’t happen ever again.”

Sally McManus became the first female secretary of the ACTU in March last year. The congress is held every three years.



Van Badham (@vanbadham) If you’re undecided on Shorten, come see him speak in front of a union crowd. He just got a standing ovation at the #ACTUcongress18 dinner and he damn well deserved it. #auspol pic.twitter.com/S8RDBduMVL

Journalists said they were not told why they were excluded and they would have liked to have had access to Shorten’s address as it was delivered. A transcript of the speech was released to media after the dinner.

Sources said McManus wanted delegates to be able to relax.

“It came across as a two-fingered salute to the working media credentialed to report on congress,” one journalist told Guardian Australia. “The reporters could care less about the actual dinner but we had a job to report on the alternative prime minister’s speech.

“At least we should have been allowed access to hear him speak.

“Farcically the speech was being live-tweeted on social media by delegates but reporters couldn’t write on it until Shorten’s office released the speech at the worker-unfriendly time of 10.30pm.”

According to the transcript, Shorten used the speech to say that a Labor government would stop the exploitation of permanent casual workers.

“In our first 100 days, we’re going to reverse the arbitrary cut to Sunday penalty rates for 700,000 workers,” he said. “And we’re going to legislate so penalty rates can never be arbitrarily reduced again.”

But the workplace minister, Craig Laundy, has called on Shorten to release a recording of the address.

“It’s all very well for Mr Shorten to put out a transcript after being pressured by journalists who were locked out, but how do we know the transcript reflects what he actually said?” Laundy said.