D Notice

The D Notice by Moyra Grant

[Australia] Dr Pauline Sadler gives a brief overview of the findings from her recently completed doctoral thesis on the D-Notice system.

The D-Notice system was introduced into Australia in 1952 by the conservative prime minister Robert Menzies and is administered by the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD). In 1977, under the Fraser government - the government in which the present prime minister John Howard was treasurer - a D-Notice was issued on matters relating to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). (SOURCE) 'The overseas spy service has always been the most secretive member of the Australian intelligence establishment. Its existence wasn't officially acknowledged until 1977, and it was placed on a legislative footing only in 2001.' (SOURCE)  
    Although some members of the Australian public are under the misapprehension that the D-Notice system is defunct, this is not the case. The DSD may be defunct (it has not met since 1982), but all pre-existing D-Notices, including that on ASIS, remain in force. If the Port Arthur massacre was orchestrated by ASIS, then the Australian media is prohibited by means of the 1977 D-Notice from discussing the case. http://www.ourmedia.org/user/95839