Doug Cameron joins Labor Left rally to support Julian Assange
|
Two leading ALP Left faction MPs have added their voices to a chorus of dissent rejecting the prime minister’s official line on WikiLeaks, telling Crikey this morning that renegade publisher Julian Assange should be backed to the hilt on freedom of speech grounds. Feisty Labor Senator Doug Cameron, who has previously bemoaned the lack of debate inside the federal caucus, called this morning for Assange to “be offered full consular support”. “He should be treated as innocent until proved otherwise,” he told Crikey today. Cameron said WikiLeaks went to the heart of the issue of freedom of the press to publish without fear or favour: ”I support press freedom and believe it is an important element of a democratic society… WikiLeaks seems to be operating consistent with other media outlets only on a massive scale.” Cameron’s factional colleague, Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou, who holds her northern Melbourne seat by a commanding 19.7%, also broke ranks, telling Crikey the equation was simple: ”If you believe in freedom of speech and transparency you can’t pick and choose. “Where government may some concerns about some things not being in the public domain, the reality is a lot of the information WikiLeaks is revealing is of public interest.” Cameron echoed Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd’s statements that the leaks are a product of US security failures, saying extremists calling for Assange to be prosecuted under domestic anti-terrorism laws needed to be reined in. “The scale of the leaks are a product of US security failures and calls by more extreme elements here and in Australia to use terrorist laws against Assange are reprehensible and in my view unsustainable,” he said. Those extreme elements appear to include the prime minister and the attorney general, Robert McClelland, who have both backed an Australian Federal Police probe into Assange. The PM has implied the Australian citizen is responsible for the “theft” of the cables, slamming the trailblazer’s conduct as “grossly irresponsible”. Less than 24 hours after the first batch of cables was released, McClelland rushed to condemn their publication and announced that the AFP and a “whole-of-government taskforce” had been told to investigate whether Assange and WikiLeaks had breached any Australian laws. McClelland was clear in his language that Australia would do anything it could to help the United States, effectively hanging Assange out to dry: ”The release of this information could prejudice the safety of people referred to in the documentation and, indeed, could be damaging to the national security interests of the United States and its allies, including Australia. So obviously Australia will support any law enforcement action that may be taken.” The uprising within the Left — including Laurie Ferguson, Sharon Grierson and Melissa Parke — will increase pressure on the PM to mollify her public statements on WikiLeaks and comes after a weekend of protests defending Assange across Australia. It could also re-ignite intra-party recriminations that continue to fester following Rudd’s assassination as prime minister in June. (Human services minister Tanya Plibersek appears not to have got the left caucus memo, going on Sky News yesterday to demand that Assange “face the law” and bullishly backing the actions of US and Australian police.) Rudd appears to have altered his rhetoric on WikiLeaks, moving him back into line with elements of the Left that supported him in his leadership stoush with the PM. Despite previously condemning the cables in a doorstop with the Bahrain-based outlet Al Arabiya on December 4, he told The Australian overnight he would try to issue Assange — who is languishing inside London’s Wandsworth Prison — with a laptop to assist with his defence. Rudd also noted he was responsible for the Passports Act and not the prime minister, countering suggestions from McClelland and Gillard that Assange’s passport could be revoked. Ironically, the front-page intervention fits a sustained pattern of sniping and undermining that was unveiled last week in the Cablegate releases themselves. |
|
|
|
14 Comments
Rudd must be relishing the opportunity to show Gillard up on this issue. She’s demonstrated her rank amateur status on matters international. Disgraceful show of ignorance by our PM and Attorney General - both lawyers. For shame.
How long has Gillard got before Uncle Sam’s Man on the Inside (Hi Mark!) knifes her and installs someone else? And what will be his reward? Foreign Minister? Hahahahaha!
Rudders is a man scorned, beware.
Rudd is looking more and more like a Prime Minister every minute. Gillard and her “running dogs” McClelland and Plibersek have really lost the plot in terms of what it is to be an Australian citizen “banged up abroad” on what appear more and more to be trumped up charges by a couple of attention seeking people disappointed with their brief encounter with Julian Assange. One must assume that somewhere within the Swedish system there are some “lickspittles” doing the bidding of their US Masters otherwise this whole episode would be as absurd as something out of a”Monty Python” skit.
Rudd said from day one that Assange was not in the wrong.
He lives with the haunting memory of Hicks and Habib and his great work on the AWB scandal.
What pray tell has Dillard ever actually accomplished?
Yes, we forget Rudd and the AWB business - pity no one was ever held to account on that. Rudd has many faults (like all of us I guess) but on this issue, he has been consistent and it would seem, correct. A cynic would say this makes him look good compared to the other nitwits in the government - as for them (Gillard et al) - I’m sure its not the intention, but they sure as hell look like they are following orders from Uncle Sam.
Whether Obama or Oprah, Lieberman or Clinton what is it with the high voltage obsequiousness going on with our inner cabinet and the “Washington mafia”! Are we now as a nation (lol) nothing more than a way station on the Washington to London Pony Express? Am I living on the same planet as these people?
No doubt it’s a great disappointment to the USA that their ambassador to Australia can’t be slotted directly into the Gillard cabinet - perhaps as Minister for Defence or Foreign Affairs. It would save them a good deal of time and messing around.
This man Assange is only a publisher of stolen stuff.
Real investigative journalists are those who win the Walkley awards
In particular Pamela Williams winner of 5 Walkleys has done a stirling job reporting and analysing the events of the demise of Rudd.
FREE ASSANGE.
MOVE RUDD BACK INTO THE LODGE.
PUT TURNBULL BACK IN CHARGE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY.
FORGIVE AND FORGET THE PAST THREE YEARS.
Rudd’s big mistake was lack of courage to call an ETS double dissolution election at the beginning of the year but Gillard and Swan should accept the blame for that.
Turnbull’s only mistake was overenthusiasm in respect of Godwin Grech. Turnbull stands for things. Abbott lacks principles.
We need a real election next time — a contest of ideas between Rudd and Turnbull — I’d be happy to wait until 2013 but I’d be equally happy to have an election in 2012.
I believe it is more simple then our politicians try to convince us. You support a free speech and democracy or you don’t.
People are maybe disillusioned and angry but they are not stupid. And no politician can play masses for ever and Julia Gillard should be aware of this.
Ms Gillard and her incompetent AG should also be mindful of what direction recent polls are heading….
She may find it useful to sit down with her caucus as soon as possible after New Year and encourage frank , open discussion about where she is taking the Government. Most new leaders enjoy something of a honymoon, hers if it exists, is in danger of becoming a divorce.
I have just written (snail mail) to Andrew Wilkie, to get together with the Independents, and put BIG JULIE in the picture, maybe bring another election?.
While we would get the same dills, the message might just get through, do we have any other ideas out there?, we just cant only bitch about the situation, something has to be done.
RoboCop McClelland’s office has just issued, buried in a pile of Senate Estimates a 170 odd page treatise called Hot Topics.
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/estimates/sup_1011/ag/106_Attachment_A_Section_3.pdf
I hope all Crikey readers will cheer his offer of legal aid to a Mr K Andrews, poor chap being on his uppers due to loss of Ministerial salary, in having to defend his stalwart actions in prtecting the nation from the wielder of the Sim card of Terror.
Lots of other meeting stuff, Customs, freedom of speech all the usual high integrity boiler plate, esp page 48.
The injust treatment of Wikileaks is becoming a reliable test dividing those Australians faithful to truth and justice and the party faithful. Any wonder Rudd comes out claiming he defends Assange’s rights and promises him a laptop, while Gillard and fellow beholden puppets bleat all the way with the USA.