A man has been charged over making a threatening phone call to award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old was arrested by police at a home in Fraser Rise in Melbourne’s north-west on Wednesday and charged with two counts of using a carriage service to menace\/cause offence.<\/p>\n
The investigation was led by investigators from Taskforce Hawk, which was established in June 2024 as an operation to target criminal behaviour in the construction sector.<\/p>\n
McKenzie, a reporter at The Age newspaper, has extensively written on alleged corruption within the building industry.<\/p>\n
A report published in The Age<\/a> following the arrest alleges the accused is the senior manager of MA Services Group, a security company that collapsed two days before Christmas.<\/a><\/p>\n In a statement, editor of The Age Patrick Elligett condemned the threats made towards McKenzie as an attack on the free press.<\/p>\n “The reporting on MA Services has been undoubtedly in the public interest and journalists should be free to do this important work without fear of threats and intimidation,” Elligett said.<\/p>\n The man was bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistates’ Court in July next year.<\/p>\n