Long Distance Call

What is going on in Australia? Eliza texted her Mum Geraldine with that question when she heard about the Australian Federal Police raiding a journalist Annika Smethurst's home in Canberra. The next day, another Police raid was executed at the ABC HQ in Sydney. Annika Smethurst's report in the Sunday Telegraph suggested Australia's surveillance agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, was seeking to broaden its powers to spy on Australian citizens without their knowledge. The ASD is meant to monitor actions overseas, not at home. The ABC report related to allegations of unlawful killings committed by Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan. Geraldine wants to know more about who called for the AFP raids and why. What concerns her most is that the warrant allowed for the deletion of files at the ABC, which is unprecedented. The incident has made Eliza re-evaluate her feelings about Julian Assange and his possible prosecution in the US. The women also discuss Geraldine's upcoming trip to Russia.