It's been almost a year since a magistrate gave whistleblower Freya Newman a two-year good behaviour bond for “unauthorized access to information” under the NSW Crimes Act. Her leaking of private information about Frances Abbott, the prime minister’s daughter, receiving a $60,000 undeclared scholarship at the Whitehouse Institute, a private design school, ignited a furious public debate about privacy, privilege and the public’s right to know.
At the National Young Writer’s Festival in Newcastle, I got to sit down with Freya and asked her to reflect on exactly how it all happened, what it’s like to be in the centre of a media shitstorm, the failings of the media’s handling of the issue, gaps in the law and whether or not she holds any regrets about the whole episode.
RJ Mitte event at the Athenaeum Theatre
My shows at the Republic Bar in Hobart, Fresh Comedy in Launceston
Rally for Refugees this Sunday October 11th
Article on Freya: The Whistleblower
Cause of the Week: Students Support The Aboriginal Communities (on FB), Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation (dumbartungaboriginalcorporation.org), Kyol Blakeney for Cleo Bachelor of the Year