WikiLeaks - Gillard Still Doesn’t Get It

Tuesday, 15 March 2011
WikiLeaks - Gillard Still Doesn’t Get It

Assange questions PM’s attitude to Australian citizens

In her response to questions from Julian Assange on ABC television’s Q & A programme on Monday evening, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she could not grasp the value let alone the moral issues underlying the WikiLeaks revelations. She considered the behavior of a whistle blower such as Assange to be ‘anarchic.’

‘That’s an amazing and irresponsible admission’, say Professor Stuart Rees, Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation. ‘Where did she get that language from? The Prime Minister cannot see that revelations about the murder of civilians by the US military, about the world wide corruption of leading politicians and the subverting of justice by US government representatives are not a unique contribution to democracy?’

‘The Wikileaks revelations float the possibility that deception and unnecessary secrecy in the conduct of government might be ended. Can’t the Prime Minister and members of her government grasp that?’

On Wednesday evening in a public forum in Sydney Town Hall – “Breaking Australia’s Silence – WikiLeaks and Freedom”, Australians will have a chance to break silence on issues which the PM appears to treat so lightly:

•Freedom of speech and the presumption of innocence
•Australians’ right to know what their government does in their name.
•Support for Julian Assange who is threatened with a David Hicks style fate
•The duty of those charged with alerting the public to the truth – journalists, broadcasters, teachers, lawyers, academics to break their silence.

The public forum will be addressed by Andrew Wilkie MP, Julian Burnside and John Pilger. Julian Burnside comments, ‘Governments exist to protect us but the Howard Government betrayed David Hicks and Mahmdoub Habib and allowed the US government to torture them. Now that government is out to get Assange. How will the Gillard government respond?’ ’

On Wednesday evening members of the public will have a chance to respond.

For more information about the Sydney Town Hall forum - Wednesday evening @ 6:30 pm- contact:

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