General Press Release No. 270 (March 2006)

Annual Address 2006: The police and the media

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty will deliver the fourth Press Council Address at a media lunch on Thursday 23 March 2006. Titled Between the lines: New powers and accountability for police and the media, the Address will look at some of the contemporary issues for the police and for the press

The Press Council is the self-regulatory body of the print media, concerned with both the freedom and the responsibility of the press. It considers and rules on complaints from the public; and it keeps a watching brief on developments that may adversely impact on the freedom of the press to report on matters of public interest and concern.

Mick Keelty is a career police officer with more than thirty years experience at local, national and international levels. He is the first Commissioner appointed from within the ranks of the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The AFP is Australia's national policing agency, enforcing Commonwealth criminal law and protecting Commonwealth interests from crime, both within Australia and abroad.

The AFP is also Australia's international law enforcement and policing representative - with 62 officers, based at 30 posts in 25 countries - and it is the chief source of advice to the Australian Government on policing issues.

Since his appointment as AFP Commissioner in April 2001, Commissioner Keelty has led the expansion and transformation of the organisation, with major new responsibilities for counter-terrorism, aviation security and transnational crime. He has also overseen the creation of the International Deployment Group - a regional assistance and capacity-building initiative - which has already undertaken missions in the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Middle East.

see also
Commisisoner Keelty's Address
Annual Address home page

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