The whistleblower accused of leaking documents to the ABC which made serious allegations against Australia's elite Special Air Service regiment, appeared in the ACT Supreme Court again on Thursday.
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David McBride, 55, is charged with five offences including theft and breaching the Defence Force Act by allegedly leaking the documents.
The leaks led to a series of stories in 2017 known as The Afghan Files for which the Australian Federal Police raided the Sydney offices of the ABC earlier this month.
On the last occasion an application was made for parts Mr McBride's trial to be heard in secret for national security reasons.
A lawyer acting for the federal Attorney-General's office told the court that orders relating to the treatment of classified and secret information had been agreed between his office and the Commonwealth prosecutors.
However, he said the ABC had written to all the parties to propose variations to those orders to allow the ABC to be present in separate secret hearings due to their position as the national broadcaster and the search warrant executed on their premises.
The matter was listed to be heard before Justice Michael Elkaim in two weeks to determine the application and make orders regarding the secret hearing.
A former military lawyer, Mr McBride has been representing himself throughout the court case and intends to continue doing so.
Speaking after court, Mr McBride said he had discussed with prosecutors the need for a closed court and said it did not bother him. However, he disputed its necessity as he said there's nothing the public did not already know but it could take years for matters to become de-classified.
"We're going to have to have a closed court so we can discuss everything freely," Mr McBride said.
"It will be too clunky to stop and start."
He said he understood why the ABC would make an application and said they had not done anything wrong in doing so, but said other media agencies would rightly say it was wrong to include one agency and not others.
"I would be worried if they were free to report the case as they saw it rather than as [other media] might see it or as the public might see it," he said.
"It's a bad look for democracy if you've got one news agency reporting the truth, if you like, and the other news agencies don't get a look in."
He said he was unsure what restrictions a closed court would place on his ability to speak to the media.
"I am slightly nervous every time I speak to the press that the next day the police will come knocking and say you're not allowed to speak to them," he said.
"They could put me in jail just for speaking about the case outside the court, so I never know if this is the last time I will be addressing the media."
Mr McBride welcomed the united address from the ABC, Nine and News Corp bosses delivered at the National Press Club on Wednesday demanding greater protections for journalists and whistleblowers.
He said Australia would benefit from media agencies working together in the public interest and said he was personally grateful to the media for highlighting his case.
Prior to entering court Mr McBride addressed a group of protesters who had amassed outside the building holding signs which read 'Free Assange' and 'Protect Whistleblowers'.
