Press Freedom Index 2006

Well, Australia can be proud of its performance, coming in equal 35th with those beacons of freedom Mali, Bulgaria and France.

This is an improvement on 41st last year.

Reporters Sans Frontiers said of Australia in its report:

Australia lost ground because of anti-terrorist laws potentially dangerous for journalists.

In comparison, other countries in the Anglosphere scored:

• Ireland =1st
• Canada =16th (with Bolivia etc.)
• New Zealand =19th (with Bosnia & Herzegovina et al.) (Australia loses to New Zealand yet again!)
• the United Kingdom =27th (with Lithuania)
• South Africa 44th (thank God Australia beat South Africa)
• the United States of America =53rd (with Botswana et al.)

Australia was defeated by (amongst others):

• Benin = 23rd
• Namibia 26th
• Costa Rica 29th
• Ghana 34th

Vietnam came 155th, or 14th last on the list, up 3 places from last year, just one place behind Iraq on 154th. Congratulations on being one of the worst countries in the world yet again!

Reporters Sans Frontiers said of Vietnam: "it continued to stifle freedom of expression online".

Patrick Henry