Only one person has ever been jailed in relation to the CIA’s torture program. Not the people who designed it. Not the torturers or managers of the “black sites” where it was carried out. Not even the people responsible for Afghan man Gul Rahman being tortured to death in Afghanistan. The person jailed for it was John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer. What did he do? He blew the whistle on the program, when the CIA was trying to cover it up and deny it existed. Kiriakou was jailed by the administration of the sainted Barack Obama.
Similarly, no one has ever been jailed — or even subjected to disciplinary action, or censure — for one of the most sordid moments in Australia’s intelligence history, the bugging of the Timorese cabinet by ASIS at the behest of Alexander Downer. The goal of the “operation” was to benefit Australia’s commercial interests and gain an advantage over a fledgling state that needed all the help it could get to become viable after decades of occupation and a violent transition to independence. Instead, we sent spies in to bug them. It’s Alexander Downer’s legacy from all those years as foreign minister, that and outsourcing Australia’s foreign policy to the Bush White House.
It was also, unquestionably, illegal under Australian law. Our overseas spy agency broke the law, as part of a particularly grubby exercise in screwing over one of the poorest countries in the region.
Now the Turnbull governments wants to punish the people who revealed it, Witness K and his lawyer Bernard Collaery. It’s important to note that K is not a whistleblower, and has at no stage acted outside the law. He has never spoken to the media — who are in any event prohibited, rightly, from revealing his identity — and he has acted in accordance with the advice of the then-Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell, about how to handle his dispute with ASIS. But he’s been charged with “conspiring” with Collaery to communicate information, a novel interpretation of lawyer-client privilege.
An illegal, and particularly grubby, act committed at the direction of the Howard government, and a prosecution by the Turnbull government, by its hand-picked Director of Public Prosecutions, signed off by the Attorney-General — you’d think Labor would be all over this. But the opposition has been deathly silent. That’s because Labor is up to its ears in this saga almost as much as the Coalition. Timor Leste began its Timor Sea suit against Australia when Julia Gillard was Prime Minister, and as the ABC’s Steve Cannane reported later, it was Julia Gillard who rejected Timor Leste’s complaint about the bugging when they learnt of it in 2012. As it has on so many of the Coalition’s assaults on basic liberties, Labor is standing shoulder to shoulder with its own opponents.
The prosecution raises major free speech and transparency issues. The government will likely seek to have the trials conducted in camera. It has much to hide on the bugging operation, particularly given its illegality; there may also be evidence ASIO has bugged not just Collaery — that’s already known — but journalists as well. Collaery will seek to prevent his trial being conducted in secret. Hopefully media organisations will join his attempt to do so next month at the initial hearing. Beyond that, the sheer fact that the government is attempting to punish a lawyer for revealing something embarrassing to the government means the case will attract considerable interest as a test of how far the High Court’s implied freedom of political communication extends.
Only the minor parties — Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick, Andrew Wilkie, Tim Storer, and the Greens’ Nick McKim — were prepared to stand by Collaery yesterday and protest the prosecution. When we write the history of how Australia became a police state, it will note that Labor colluded and collaborated in its creation.
Come on Bill Shorten, here is a chance to differentiate yourself from the Tories.
Howard and Downer should be in court, NOT Collaery and Witness K.
Grow a spine Bill.
It’s not just Bill, the ALP is riddled with cowards who refuse to take on the LNP over this creeping authoritarianism. As the story pointed out Gillard knew in 2012 and did nothing.
ALP/LNP cronies here/cronies there
The Liberals are the natural party for the boot on the back of the neck. I expect nothing less from them; they are savages in expensive suits. No crime is too small for them to wade into.
However, the Labor Party, I used to expect so much more. The Party of Chiefly, Curtin and Whitlam – they have descended from the mountain top into hell, haven’t they?
So, the voters are deserting the major parties? Quelle fooking surprise.
“The Party of Chiefly” – good old auto-correct! Reminds me of someone (I forget who) from a Labour household who recalled hearing and rendering the old state school Monday morning oath “and cheerfully obey” as “and Chiffley obey”. Unfortunately, no auto-correct will produce that one.
“Only the minor parties — Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick, Andrew Wilkie, Tim Storer, and the Greens’ Nick McKim — were prepared to stand by Collaery yesterday and protest the prosecution.”
It’s telling that those two ‘great defenders of free speech’ David Leyonhjelm and Cory Bernardi weren’t mentioned amongst those protesting the prosecution. Of course if it was bicycle helmets or 18C they would have been all over it like a rash.
Damn true Mick.
Mick you have Hit it on the nail. I’ve had it with the ‘Major Pain Parties’ – Independant Thinkers (excluding Bernardi & particularly the ‘accidental tourist’ Leyonhjello who have shown true weakness on this issue) are my only choice. What a sad little police state we are becoming.
Andrew Wilkie is probably the only person in Parliament who has a realistic perspective on this matter. The second observation to make is that scape goat(ing) is not a new phenomena in politics.
We’ll see where it goes on 28 July. I think it will occur to most that the ALP is just the saccharin-added version of the LCP; A bit like what confronted the Yanks in Nov 2016: two Republicans.
Lastly, I can’t imagine the reason but, it occurs to me that the two guys in the photograph somehow got their ties mixed up in the Gents washroom.
LOL to your last paragraph Kyle.
Look there’s only one thing for it. If we’re destined to become a police state, shouldn’t we also become a client state of China. I mean if we’re going to p*ss all our Western Democratic values up the wall and become like the rest, we might has well join with a country that’s growing its economy, educating its children and investing for its future… (ok being sarcastic, but it’s an interesting thought exercise)
Yes indeed Craig, the Dotard is doing his best to isolate America, and China’s
star is rising faster than ever.
Its a point of realism Craig and not a point of sarcasm. What you identify in the PRC is just what is happening – i.e. the opposite (e.g. Gonsky and look-a likes) in godzone Oz.