Former Army Lawyer takes Aim at Prime Minister

From left to right: Greg Barns, John Shipton, David McBride. Pic: Bridget Clarke

Former Army lawyer David McBride took aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last night, urging his government to do more to support whistle-blowers.

Speaking at a Q&A event as part of Wikileaks’ 16^th anniversary in Carlton, Mr McBride said Mr Albanese represents “the sort of country” he does “not want to fight for”.

“He is the sort of person to say he hates bullies and always tells the truth, but in the playground, he does the opposite.”

“This is a criminal government.”

Between 2014 and 2016, McBride leaked government documents to the ABC detailing alleged war crimes, now known as the Afghan Files.

He is awaiting trial on charges of theft of Commonwealth property and breaching the Defence Act.

Addressing the 2022 federal election, Mr McBride labelled the major parties a “disgrace” and “embarrassment” and called for increased support for independents.

John Shipton, father of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, said the election of independents in May were “all on Assange platforms”.

“What is necessary has fallen upon us and we have acted,” he said.

“This is solidarity fighting against arbitrary power.”

Mr Shipton said Labor’s choice to not intervene in the Assange and McBride cases revealed “institutional impunity” and a “credibility gap” at all government levels.

“The distance between government and the people is 80 to 190 degrees,” he said.

He said the government “holds the institution at greater heights than the laws that guide that institution”.

Speaking on the raids of the homes of journalists, barrister Greg Barns said Australia has “one of the worst human rights regimes in the democratic world”.

He called the raids “unprecedented” and “scandalous”.

Mr Barns blamed changes in freedom of information laws post-9/11 for government obstruction in the “public information space”.

“The number of documents you receive that are fully redacted is extraordinary,” he said.

Australia is hurtling towards a “dystopian future”.

Both Mr Barns and Mr McBride agreed the Australian/US alliance was also to blame for the lack of intervention in the Assange and McBride cases.

“The most sinister, destructive element in the world today is the US government,” Mr McBride said.

“We are no longer a sovereign country; we are beholden to a state that does not have our best interests at heart.”

But Mr McBride said his upcoming trial was an opportunity to “put the government on trial”.

“I need to be able to call out people like (Governor General) David Hurley. I need to follow it through to the end. I need it to blow up in their faces.”

Mr McBride compared the effort to free Assange to the “people power” of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

He praised Assange supporters, saying “no one was fighting the Nazis in 1942”.

Mr McBride is the subject of documentary Declassified. Seeking refuge in Spain following the charges, Mr McBride “contemplated suicide” and “didn’t think I was ever gonna win”.

“But cracks in the dam wall are getting bigger and bigger.

“With your support, we’re actually gonna win this.”

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