Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Julian Assange

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:40): (179) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Premier and is related to the ongoing imprisonment of Julian Assange in light of today being World Press Freedom Day. World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every 3 May. This year’s theme is ‘Shaping a future of rights: freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights’, signifying the importance of freedom of expression to enjoy and protect all other human rights. World Press Freedom Day is observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the past 30 years World Press Freedom Day celebrations have given prominence to the right of free expression and emphasising various aspects of press freedom’s importance. It seems odd to celebrate world press freedom when there is clearly no freedom of press or indeed freedom of expression as indicated in this year’s theme. We know, at least here in Victoria, freedom of expression is increasingly under attack from media and people in this room demonising and silencing anyone with alternative views to their own.

In June 2019 the Australian Federal Police raided the home of journalist Annika Smethurst and the Sydney headquarters of the ABC. These raids exposed the fragility of freedom of the press in Australia. Australia is different to many other Western democracies, where press freedom is neither recognised nor protected under Australian law. World Press Freedom Day stresses to all Australian media workers and policymakers to make a stand for a free press and quality in ethical journalism. Our own laws fail in both press freedom and whistleblower protection. We must do more to fix these laws and show real transparency on these issues. It is true that efforts have been made to protect whistleblowers, including in this place; however, we still need to do more.

Julian Assange, a Melbourne man, has suffered greatly in detention. As a journalist with WikiLeaks he exposed terrible corruption and war crimes. In June 2019 I was the first member of this Parliament to call for the pardoning of Julian Assange, and it saddens me that four years later he is still not a free man. His mental and physical health continue to deteriorate due to his imprisonment. I request that the Premier of Victoria stand up for a Victorian when he next meets with his federal counterparts and urge them to continue diplomatic efforts to ensure the release of Julian Assange.