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Rudd and Wikileaks: never mind the bollocks

By Nicholas Stuart - posted Tuesday, 14 December 2010


At one time, the only source of power was the government. That's still true in places like China yet even there authoritarianism is under threat.

When confronted with the leaking of the cables at the beginning of the week, Gillard (correctly) insisted that the foundation-stone of the leaking was "an illegal act" and (wrongly) implied that Assange was therefore guilty of breaking a law, although she didn't specify which law in which jurisdiction (because she can't). Assange simply published information - just like the editor of every newspaper in Australia. Are they all to be arrested?

The truth of the matter is that the facts Dorling has unearthed are highly uncomfortable. They reflect poorly on Labor, revealing duplicity at the highest levels of our government.

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The authoritarians would like to keep these revelations tightly locked behind closed doors, but they can't any more. That's why Justice Minister, Brendan O’Connor, was floundering yesterday when asked if Assange had broken any law.

He was unable to explain, even in the vaguest terms, what transgression may have occurred but assured the public that police are investigating.

He doesn't seem to realise that the horse has already bolted.

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A version of this article was published in The Canberra Times on December 11, 2010.



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About the Author

Nicholas Stuart is a columnist with the Canberra Times. Nick Stuart has written three books, Kevin Rudd: An Unauthorised Political Biography; What Goes Up: Behind the 2007 Election; and Rudd's Way: November 2007 - June 2010.

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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