WEBVTT

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Thank you so much for coming to this rally.

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Your presence here and your support, in homes,

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workplaces, online and elsewhere

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is exactly what is needed

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to keep us strong.

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I really wish I could be with you in person.

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I can't wait to be back in Melbourne,

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where I've fond memories of taking a tram up Swanson Street,

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dropping in at Trades Hall

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and having my favorite coffee at The New International Bookshop.

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Although we are far apart at the moment,

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I follow news from home regularly.

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Iâve been heartened,

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not just by the stories of support for our organization,

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but the stories of courageous and kindness

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that everyday Australians

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have shown to one another during the floods.

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That too is a matter of comfort

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to all of us who believe

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in basic human decency.

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As a journalist I'm used to reporting the news

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rather than addressing rallies,

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but these are not ordinary times.

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The times we are going through at the moment constitute

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a generational challenge.

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The US Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s

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also constituted a generational challenge.

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As did the Peace Movement of the late 1960s,

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Feminist movements in different periods of the 20th century

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and the awakening environmental consciousness that is taken hold in recent years.

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For the internet generation

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this is our challenge and this is our of time.

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We support a cause

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that is no more radical a proposition

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than that the citizenry

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has a right to scrutinize the State.

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The State has asserted its authority by surveilling,

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monitoring and regimenting all of us.

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All the while hiding behind cloaks

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of security

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and opaqueness.

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Surely it was only a matter of time

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before citizens pushed back and we asserted our rights.

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This brings me to another point.

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We at WikiLeaks recognize the difference between secrecy and privacy.

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Individuals,

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not Governments,

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have the right to privacy.

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Strong powers must be held to account

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while weak

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must be protected.

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We believe

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in transparent power not in transparent people.

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We publish material that is in the public interest.

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For us, as the European Court of Human Rights and the British Court of Appeal have held,

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the decisive factor in balancing the protection of private life

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against freedom of expression should lie in the contribution

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the material has to make to the debate of general interest.

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It is surely

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a matter of public interest

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that Australian politicians

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secretly brief foreign embassies,

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in effect

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providing them with political intelligence on the Australian government,

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while concealing these vital facts

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from those who actually elected them to office.

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WikiLeaks has brought this

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important information to the public.

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It is surely a matter of public interest

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that the US secretary of state

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Hillary Clinton

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has been running a secret intelligence campaign

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directed

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at the leadership on the United Nations demanding passwords, DNA,

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personal encryption keys, credit card numbers, e-mail addresses and so on.

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That targeting is illegal

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under the 1946

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UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities

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and illegal under

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the 1961

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Vienna Convention

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on Diplomatic Relations.

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And it is surely a matter of public interest

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that the labor government

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has been secretly working to shield from prosecution

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Indonesian military figures

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who killed an Australian journalist in East Timor.

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WikiLeaks brought this information out to the public as well.

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It would appear the labor government today is doing what the labor government did in

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1975 regarding East Timor -

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- talking about human rights

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while trying to downplay attacks on journalists.

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Because you and I should be in no doubt on one thing,

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we are a media organization,

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I am a publisher and I am a journalist.

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I've been a member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance -

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- Australia's big journalists union for years.

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I published my first book when I was 25.

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There has been outrageous

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and illegal calls to have me and my staff killed,

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clear cases

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of incitement to violence -

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- yet the Australian government has condoned this behavior

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by its diplomatic silence.

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I find it interesting

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that some politicians

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have no intention

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of implying the precautionary principle

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when it comes to the environment

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but assert it

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when it comes

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to our reporting.

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They conjure hypothetical scenarios

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and claim that somehow someday

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our stories might somehow harm someone somewhere.

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But we have a four year publishing history -

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- a history of not harming a single individual anywhere.

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They provide no evidence of actual harm.

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So I say to you: that which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without argument.

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And it is interesting how some politicians

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single out my staff and myself

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for attack,

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while saying nothing about the slaughter of thousands by the US military

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or other dictatorships,

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and saying nothing

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about other much wealthier,

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powerful news organizations

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that publish material in partnership with us.

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It is cowardly

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to bully a small media organization -

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- but that is what is happening here.

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We are eternally grateful

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to your strong support

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in helping us stand up to the bullies.

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Julia Gillard should be taking active steps

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to bring me home and to protect our people.

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She should be contacting the US embassy

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and demanding that it back off.

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As for the future, we are as determined as ever.

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With your help and support

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we'll make our way through this storm

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and continue to publish

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and hold powerful and abusive organizations to account.

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I want to assure you

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that we will not be mimic the timidity and subservience to power

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that some other media organizations have.

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If that is what it means to go to mainstream

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then we are happy to stay where we are -

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- at the front line of the truth.

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We will, as Don Chipp dreamed,

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try to keep the bastards honest.

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We have been deeply moved by the concern

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Australians have shown for us,

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but I ask that you turn your concern into action.

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Insist

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the attacks on my staff

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and organization stop.

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Insist

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that I be allowed to return home.

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Insist

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that the Australian government come clean

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on all its interactions

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with foreign powers

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in relation to our organization.

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Thank you for your good will.

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We'll keep the faith with you and you'll keep us strong.