Thank you so much for coming to this rally.
Your presence here and your support, in homes,
workplaces, online and elsewhere
is exactly what is needed
to keep us strong.
I really wish I could be with you in person.
I can't wait to be back in Melbourne,
where I've fond memories of taking a tram up Swanson Street,
dropping in at Trades Hall
and having my favorite coffee at The New International Bookshop.
Although we are far apart at the moment,
I follow news from home regularly.
Iâve been heartened,
not just by the stories of support for our organization,
but the stories of courageous and kindness
that everyday Australians
have shown to one another during the floods.
That too is a matter of comfort
to all of us who believe
in basic human decency.
As a journalist I'm used to reporting the news
rather than addressing rallies,
but these are not ordinary times.
The times we are going through at the moment constitute
a generational challenge.
The US Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s
also constituted a generational challenge.
As did the Peace Movement of the late 1960s,
Feminist movements in different periods of the 20th century
and the awakening environmental consciousness that is taken hold in recent years.
For the internet generation
this is our challenge and this is our of time.
We support a cause
that is no more radical a proposition
than that the citizenry
has a right to scrutinize the State.
The State has asserted its authority by surveilling,
monitoring and regimenting all of us.
All the while hiding behind cloaks
of security
and opaqueness.
Surely it was only a matter of time
before citizens pushed back and we asserted our rights.
This brings me to another point.
We at WikiLeaks recognize the difference between secrecy and privacy.
Individuals,
not Governments,
have the right to privacy.
Strong powers must be held to account
while weak
must be protected.
We believe
in transparent power not in transparent people.
We publish material that is in the public interest.
For us, as the European Court of Human Rights and the British Court of Appeal have held,
the decisive factor in balancing the protection of private life
against freedom of expression should lie in the contribution
the material has to make to the debate of general interest.
It is surely
a matter of public interest
that Australian politicians
secretly brief foreign embassies,
in effect
providing them with political intelligence on the Australian government,
while concealing these vital facts
from those who actually elected them to office.
WikiLeaks has brought this
important information to the public.
It is surely a matter of public interest
that the US secretary of state
Hillary Clinton
has been running a secret intelligence campaign
directed
at the leadership on the United Nations demanding passwords, DNA,
personal encryption keys, credit card numbers, e-mail addresses and so on.
That targeting is illegal
under the 1946
UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities
and illegal under
the 1961
Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations.
And it is surely a matter of public interest
that the labor government
has been secretly working to shield from prosecution
Indonesian military figures
who killed an Australian journalist in East Timor.
WikiLeaks brought this information out to the public as well.
It would appear the labor government today is doing what the labor government did in
1975 regarding East Timor -
- talking about human rights
while trying to downplay attacks on journalists.
Because you and I should be in no doubt on one thing,
we are a media organization,
I am a publisher and I am a journalist.
I've been a member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance -
- Australia's big journalists union for years.
I published my first book when I was 25.
There has been outrageous
and illegal calls to have me and my staff killed,
clear cases
of incitement to violence -
- yet the Australian government has condoned this behavior
by its diplomatic silence.
I find it interesting
that some politicians
have no intention
of implying the precautionary principle
when it comes to the environment
but assert it
when it comes
to our reporting.
They conjure hypothetical scenarios
and claim that somehow someday
our stories might somehow harm someone somewhere.
But we have a four year publishing history -
- a history of not harming a single individual anywhere.
They provide no evidence of actual harm.
So I say to you: that which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without argument.
And it is interesting how some politicians
single out my staff and myself
for attack,
while saying nothing about the slaughter of thousands by the US military
or other dictatorships,
and saying nothing
about other much wealthier,
powerful news organizations
that publish material in partnership with us.
It is cowardly
to bully a small media organization -
- but that is what is happening here.
We are eternally grateful
to your strong support
in helping us stand up to the bullies.
Julia Gillard should be taking active steps
to bring me home and to protect our people.
She should be contacting the US embassy
and demanding that it back off.
As for the future, we are as determined as ever.
With your help and support
we'll make our way through this storm
and continue to publish
and hold powerful and abusive organizations to account.
I want to assure you
that we will not be mimic the timidity and subservience to power
that some other media organizations have.
If that is what it means to go to mainstream
then we are happy to stay where we are -
- at the front line of the truth.
We will, as Don Chipp dreamed,
try to keep the bastards honest.
We have been deeply moved by the concern
Australians have shown for us,
but I ask that you turn your concern into action.
Insist
the attacks on my staff
and organization stop.
Insist
that I be allowed to return home.
Insist
that the Australian government come clean
on all its interactions
with foreign powers
in relation to our organization.
Thank you for your good will.
We'll keep the faith with you and you'll keep us strong.