A unique fundraising event on the weekend for an embattled former public servant has highlighted the softer side of the Right To Know coalition, an unlikely alliance of the country’s leading media companies and the national journalists’ union.

The fundraiser, described by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance as “rather remarkable,” raised $40,000 for Allan Kessing, the former customs officer who was found guilty last year of leaking secret information to a reporter from The Australian. The information sparked an inquiry that led to improvements in airport security.

John Hartigan, the chief executive of News Limited, threw in $20,000, while reporters and newsrooms around the country contributed the rest, meaning that Kessing can now launch an appeal against his suspended nine month jail term.

The fundraiser shows another side of the Right To Know coalition which was formed in May this year by News Limited, the ABC, Fairfax, SBS, AAP, Sky News and the Media Alliance to combat some of the 500 laws that limit the release of information and threaten freedom of speech.

Last week it scored points when the Attorney General, Philip Ruddock, announced that the Australian Law Reform Commission will investigate the federal Freedom of Information laws. FOI is one of the key areas targeted by Right To Know, which says the legislation is at risk of becoming an oxymoron.

Ruddock’s announcement is surely one of the more cynical acts of the Howard Government and proves the maxim that government’s hate FOI while oppositions love it. On the eve of a likely election defeat and after nearly twelve years of robbing the legislation of its potency, Ruddock, has announced a review that is likely to recommend the kinds of reforms that suit an opposition trying to combat a newly elected Government.

Mind you, given the ALRC’s recent form, it is not guaranteed that it will be as media friendly as Right To Know is hoping. In its recent report on privacy law, the Commission advocated a new statutory tort for breaches of privacy which could curb the media’s ability to cover sensitive or hidden topics. It also recommended the current media exemption on privacy law be tightened by narrowing the definition of what constitutes journalism.

And in last year’s report on reforming the Government’s draconian sedition laws, the ALRC fell short of recommending a media exemption that would have given the press greater scope to cover terrorism related issues without inadvertently falling under the sweeping powers of the sedition provisions.

Right To Know has also launched an independent audit into the state of the nation’s media laws chaired by former ICAC boss Irene Moss. The report should make fascinating reading but, again, may not be as forthright as Right To Know hopes. The appointment of Moss caused plenty of protest in the blogosphere, which she did little to quell when she addressed a free speech dinner a month ago with the opening line “When I was first approached I had to ask myself whether the media has too much freedom already.”