The Protection of Journalists’ Sources in New Zealand and Australia

The degree of legal protection given to journalists’ sources in New Zealand and Australia has progressed considerably over the last 30 years. Both nations have moved from a landscape of virtually no source protection to a strong presumption against source disclosure. This paper examines the history of this progression, its merits and its shortcomings. It highlights a distinct ‘Australasian approach’ to source protection and assesses this approach against other domestic and international methods in order to determine its effectiveness. It concludes that while source protection in New Zealand and the Commonwealth of Australia is relatively stable and comprehensive when compared to other jurisdictions, some refinement in approach is necessary in order to guarantee equitable protection for all journalists and their sources.