"The decision of the National Press Club to withdraw the invitation to the Russian Ambassador to speak at the club is the latest move taking Australia to a new low in lack of commitment to free speech.

The club has a proud tradition of inviting controversial speakers. In 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, South Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky addressed the club; in 1977 Dr Edward Teller, father of the H bomb spoke; in 1974 the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was on the podium; and in November 1983 South Africa’s ambassador, Dr Denis Worrall presented his government’s segregationist policies. If the Press Club is to exclude representatives of countries that have been accused of war crimes it’s going to have a long list of banned people and it will be breaking with the policies of the past.

Is the club going to exclude the Israeli Ambassador on the grounds that there are frequent killings in Gaza? Is the Saudi Arabian ambassador welcome to speak, given Saudi’s action in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi?"

Paul Malone is a journalist with over 40 years experience and a former Board member of the National Press Club.

#freespeech #nationalpressclub #australia #communism #journalism #russia #ukraine

https://johnmenadue.com/what-h....as-gone-wrong-with-a