Julian Assange: the plot thickens

DOCUMENTING DRAMA

The FBI has reopened its case against Wikileaks founder and Australian journalist Julian Assange, the SMH ($) reports, after agents tried to interview his ghostwriter, Andrew O’Hagan, in London. O’Hagan refused to talk to them because he would never give a statement against “a fellow journalist being pursued for telling the truth”. Badass, particularly as O’Hagan isn’t exactly fond of Assange as a person, as he famously wrote in the London Review of Books. Anyway, Assange’s lawyer, Stephen Kenny, was taken by surprise by the news — he says it’s been years since the indictment was issued, and he didn’t realise there was an investigation under way. What if they’re gathering evidence to clear Assange’s name, considering there are growing rumours the Albanese government is working on it, as The New Daily’s reporting indicates? It’s not impossible, Kenny says, but it would be “very unusual” if the FBI was trying to help him.

Meanwhile, Labor Senator Anne Urquhart claims two staff from Linda Reynolds’ old office emailed classified documents from Services Australia to private Gmail accounts after the Coalition’s May election loss, Guardian Australia reports. Reynolds denies it. Urquhart reckons the agency found the office had transferred “a large volume of data off the government network”, but Reynolds basically said let’s take this outside, retorting that she’d gladly debate it if Urquhart “would like to go out and repeat those allegations outside of privilege”. Ahh, parliamentary privilege, a lawless place. Services Australia boss Rebecca Skinner says the matter related to “improper information management” and did not answer when Urquhart claimed staff told her Reynolds told them to.

A HEALTHY SCEPTICISM

Health Minister Mark Butler’s wife Daniela Ritorto has quit her job at 89 Degrees East, which together with COSBOA has signed a $23.4 million contract with the Albanese government, but news.com.au ($) reports her resignation was for family reasons. Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley wasn’t convinced. Her spokesperson said Butler “deliberated on a decision that benefited the company his wife worked for at the time”. But Butler’s office said there was no mention of 89 Degrees East when it went before him on the expenditure review committee. Ley called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to investigate the job for “Labor mates”, which is quite rich coming from the Coalition, one might note. “89 Degrees East’s CEO is Alister Jordan, a former chief of staff to [former PM Kevin] Rudd,” Samantha Maiden notes.

Meanwhile a Brisbane man has been billed $360 for three COVID PCR swabs at what he thought was a free drive-through clinic, Guardian Australia reports. He’s one of several Queenslanders who are being chased to cough up the fee (mind the pun). In March 2022, the Queensland government tightened PCR eligibility so that only people with a doctor’s referral could receive a free test. Wowza. Speaking of big debts, nine of NSW’s public universities posted a collective $400 million deficit last year, the SMH ($) reports, while the University of Sydney’s revenue grew by $298 million. The annual reports, tabled in Parliament, showed enrolments were down 11,292 compared with the year before. But it didn’t stop many vice-chancellors getting big pay increases, Guardian Australia adds. “The University of Wollongong’s vice-chancellor Patricia Davidson’s pay jumped from about $780,000 to more than $1 million including superannuation,” the paper notes, while the uni posted a $28 million deficit.

JUDGMENT DAY

After 110 days and about $25 million partly bankrolled by Kerry Stokes, the judge will rule on former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case at 2.15pm AEST. The Victoria Cross recipient sued the SMH, The Age and The Canberra Times over articles that alleged he had a hand in six murders of prisoners or Afghan civilians, the BBC reports. But the messy court case heard claims from villagers, a federal minister, elite soldiers, friends, and his ex-wife, about three further alleged murders involving Roberts-Smith, torrid bullying allegations, and an alleged assault of his mistress, Guardian Australia continues. His legal team said they were just “fanciful” and “salacious” rumours. If Judge Anthony Besanko agrees, it could be the highest defamation payout in our history — possibly millions, the paper says. Importantly, however, it’s not a war crime trial — it’s a civil case, and that lowers the burden of proof on the newspapers. It doesn’t mean the cops can’t bring a criminal charge against him in future, however.

It comes as Defence Chief Angus Campbell says he was warned by the US about American legislation known as Leahy Law, the ABC reports, which forbids the US military from helping overseas militaries that have been accused of gross violations of human rights. The warning came from the US embassy after the Brereton inquiry was released in late 2020, but Campbell says he didn’t tell new Defence Minister Richard Marles about it, only former defence ministers. The gut-wrenching Brereton report found 19 soldiers should be investigated by the Australian Federal Police for the alleged murders of 39 prisoners and civilians, and the alleged cruel treatment of two others. Just one Australian soldier, Oliver Schulz, has been charged with a war crime of murder and it happened in March after ABC’s Four Corners aired frightening footage.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

Writer James Colley, like many of us, has sat on the couch watching the Olympics, perhaps with some little corn chippie pieces strewn on his shirt, brazenly scoffing that he could “at least get bronze”. Take running, for instance — how hard could it be?! After Colley finished a half-marathon recently, he says he would “rather die” than do it again. It all started when a friend (now nemesis) urged him to “challenge” himself by signing up. Why, he wondered. “I don’t want to know my limitations,” he writes for the SMH ($). But he joined the half-marathon anyway, and soon the big day came. “Like all peak-performing athletes, I made sure to fill up on a nutritious and scientifically balanced ham and cheese croissant,” he says, before he and the horde of bouncing runners set off.

Settling in behind the glistening shirtless guys, but in front of the zany-costumed runners, it seemed to be going OK. Looking around at the group, he marvelled that he wasn’t the only one who thought it was “fun or good or worthwhile to pay money to undergo something so awful in our own free time”. As a self-described lifetime exercise agnostic, Colley says he realises it never becomes easy or fun, but rather a tolerable sort of suffering. Somewhere between moments of pain and regret, however, he did feel happiness as he jogged along. Look at this gorgeous city, he marvelled. The last few kilometres were a “walk in the park” — literally, he stumbled through the botanical gardens. But as he crossed the finish line, Colley realised his suspicion of a heart attack coming on was actually a little balloon of pride. He was no longer an outsider. He was one of the weirdos, and he could not be happier.

Hoping you finish something tough off today too, big or small.

SAY WHAT?

I’m on the spectrum. I’ve felt like for 45 years, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go put my human suit on.’ And only in the last two years have I become fully myself.

Sia

Two years after she drew criticism for her depiction of autism in the film Music, the Australian musician has announced that she is on the autism spectrum on a podcast about the American TV series Survivor.

CRIKEY RECAP

Crosby Textor: the pollsters that took over the Liberal Party and became a global power

DAVID HARDAKER

“Crikey’s new investigative series Crosby Textor: the ultimate insiders examines C|T Group’s evolution from early masters of smart polling and cut-through political messaging for conservative politics to the unique global business model it has become today.

“As the investigation shows, the group’s influence over the Liberal Party has grown exponentially — to the point where it is now impossible to know who controls who. Is C|T Group there to serve the Liberal Party and Liberal governments? Or are Liberal governments there to serve C|T Group and its vast list of corporate clients?”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Target Pride backlash exposes ‘rainbow capitalism’ problem, designer says (Reuters)

Auschwitz museum criticises Polish ruling party’s use of death camp for political video (euronews)

Sudan army suspends participation in Jeddah ceasefire talks (Al Jazeera)

‘How can I help?’: ex-PM Sir John Key called Ministry of Justice over son’s podcast which broke suicide law (Stuff)

Negotiating with Putin may have to take priority over war crimes trial, says Macron (The Guardian)

‘Difficult day’ expected as Halifax-area fire continues to burn out of control (CBC)

THE COMMENTARIAT

Time to leave shame at the bedroom door. Period. — Katrina Marson (The Age) ($): “When researching sex-ed overseas, I sat in on a class of Year 6 kids being taught about periods. The educators showed them pads and tampons, explaining how they worked. There were a lot of grossed-out groans from the boys, and I admit I bristled defensively. That gave way, somewhat, when I saw one boy so embarrassed, he had his head in his hands, unable to look up. Many of us are taught from a young age that periods are secret women’s business — disgusting generally, but ever more so for those who don’t menstruate. What are the repercussions of this censorship-through-shame, aside from risking a perfectly good pair of stilettos at the bar table?

“I remember a friend in college referring to her period as ‘blow job week’ because that’s what she would do with her partner in lieu of more reciprocal intimacy, when she was bleeding. This is not unusual: an international survey found 41% of respondents avoided any sexual contact with their own genitals while on their period, and focused only on stimulating their partner. Missing out on period sex might feel like a cruel joke for those who experience an increase in sexual appetite during their period. Of course, there are plenty of ways to experience sexual intimacy when menstruating, without getting blood on your hands (or anywhere else) — most menstruators orgasm from clitoral stimulation alone, for example. But there’s also nothing wrong with a bit of mess: sex is messy, and awkward, and visceral. It is, after all, human, and pretending otherwise can inhibit pleasure in many ways.”

Why the US Fed is losing its way — Mohamed El-Erian (The AFR) ($): “One might think that predicting the US Federal Reserve’s next policy moves would become easier now that it has already raised interest rates 10 consecutive times, for a total of 5 percentage points. Not so fast: I suspect that few, if any know for sure what the Fed will do at its June 13-14 meeting – not even the Fed itself. Over the past two weeks, officials at the world’s most powerful and influential central bank have signalled a range of possible actions, from raising rates again to ‘pausing’ or ‘skipping’ this round and resuming the tightening process in July. One Fed official has even hinted that it would have been better for the institution not to raise at its last meeting, in May.

“We do not know where the Fed will land for two main reasons. It is a central bank that is excessively data-dependent in an unusually fluid economy, and it lacks a solid strategic foundation. For this Fed, much will depend on the employment and inflation data that will be released in the days before the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets. As matters stand (at the end of May), the data will probably lead them to raise rates again. That is not what I would do, given what I believe should be a more secular and strategic approach to monetary policy. It is tempting to attribute the wide range of views among Fed officials to the fluidity of economic and financial conditions. After all, America’s debt-ceiling saga and banking-system tremors have further complicated an already uncertain outlook for growth and inflation worldwide. But that explanation is too narrow, and it is unlikely to stand the test of time.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Online

• Tuvalu Minister of Finance and Economic Development Seve Paeniu, and Vanuatu Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology and Geo-hazards, Energy, Environment and Disaster Risk-management Ralph Regenvanu will speak about climate change and the Pacific in a webinar held by the Australia Institute.

Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)

• Author Nilima Rao will talk about her new book, A Disappearance in Fiji, at Better Read Than Dead bookshop.

Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)

• Trade Minister Don Farrell will speak about trade priorities at the National Press Club.