Alongside this work, Hannah is Vice President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties. In this role, she has devised policy, coordinated and written submissions to government inquiries, appeared before a parliamentary committee, and organised public forums, addressing issues including Australia’s counterterrorism laws, press freedoms, whistleblower protections, and privacy.
As an undergraduate, Hannah was elected to edit Australia’s only weekly student newspaper Honi Soit. She has written on legal and civil liberties issues for publications including Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian Australia, Legal Tweaks and New Matilda.
Hannah’s experience in journalism led her to focus her undergraduate law studies on the intersection between law and journalism. She has published academic work on the protection of journalists’ sources in courtrooms.
Hannah’s academic ability was recognised by numerous prizes and scholarships throughout her undergraduate studies. She was also a finalist for the University of Sydney’s Convocation Medal.
Hannah has also been a successful mooter. As a student at the University of Sydney, she won the national championship of the prestigious Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.
Hannah has previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Sydney.
Hannah intends to use a Master of Laws at a US university to explore the protection of freedom of expression and the free press in the digital age, particularly as those values are affected by national security lawmaking.
She sees the internet as both an unprecedentedly powerful tool enabling citizens and journalists to express and exchange ideas, and as a key instrument for governments seeking to monitor, and suppress, ideas and communication. Accordingly, freedom of expression is enjoying new forms, but also facing new threats, which must be addressed legally. She is particularly interested in conducting research into the legal protection of whistleblowers.
Hannah hopes her research will contribute to level-headed policy-making in Australia, which protects our security but also properly appreciates the civil liberties interests at stake.