EXCLUSIVE lead to his extradition to the US. When asked whether he believes Assange: We are insurers of the people America will drop their case against him, Assange says it will not happen. “Probably not,” he says. “I hope not in the sense that if you’re doing BY ADAM HUNT concentration of media ownership and believes that a strong independent good journalism by its nature it’s often controversial. If you’re doing It’s 7pm on a Friday and I’m waiting for my call to be connected to media sets the parameters for political debate. good work exposing very dark organisations, they will try and make the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where WikiLeaks editor Julian “Our policies are concerning media and protection of journalistic their counterattacks.” Assange has been a political prisoner for over a year. sources and protections of rights of Australians from surveillance in If Assange is extradited to the US, he believes he could be subject to Assange is lead candidate for Victoria in the Senate in this weekend’s Australia,” he says. the same treatment Bradley Manning endured when first arrested and Federal Election and, if elected, plans to act as an overseer in the Upper “We live in a ‘mediaocracy’. Those are the parameters of political House where his central role would be to supervise the main parties and held in solitary confinement. debate - what is important politically is set by the quality and courage of “We only need to look at the treatment of Bradley Manning to hold government to account. our media.” understand the seriousness of what that would mean in practice,” he Assange’s personal assistant answers. We exchange pleasantries and Newspaper circulation in Australia shows that News Corp titles says. “I’m not scared of being in prison - I have been in prison in the UK briefly discuss the weather. “We don’t get to see much sun here,” she account for 59 per cent of the sales of all daily newspapers, a monopoly for 10 days in solitary confinement.” says, before handing the phone to one of the most controversial figures in Assange describes as unhealthy. “But that said, it would be simply unwise to throw myself into the modern history. “The situation for Australia, with all but two of the major Australian situation that Bradley Manning is in.” “The role of the WikiLeaks Party is to be insurers for people in the cities having only one daily newspaper and the lion share of them owned As more people share details of their lives on the Internet and voice election,” says Assange. “We’re not a party of government - we do not by News Corp, is quite unhealthy,” he says. “That is one of the worst want to be a party of government. Our role is to make the bastards concentrations of media ownership anywhere in the world. public opinion, Assange gave his view on how things could evolve in the honest and not to join us. “Rupert Murdoch appears to see the function of journalism not as future. “The Senate itself was always meant to be a house of oversight - it has freedom of expression but freedom of extortion.” “As the Internet has merged with society, society has also merged unfortunately due to the dominance of the two major parties, become a Assange emphasises the influence Rupert Murdoch and News Corp with the Internet and while that has produced very important freedoms, house of deal-making. We want to bring that original purpose back to the have on political discourse. it has also meant that nearly all important communication we have is Senate.” “In Australia, it’s quite clear from the way The Daily Telegraph intercepted on bulk,” he says. The WikiLeaks Party is running Kellie Tranter and Alison Broinowski has been covering the election and the Herald Sun that Murdoch has “Two billion interceptions per day are being permanently stored and for the Senate in NSW, and Assange is urging the citizens of NSW to provided that he is going to try and get Tony Abbott elected,” he says. indexed in the bowels of an unaccountable foreign spy agency. That is a vote for them. “So we see it as very important to try and improve the quality of the titanic power inequality that is so severe that it appears to be distorting “WikiLeaks, the publisher whose ethos has inspired the party, has Australian press, and by using the Senate position to bring up subjects the rule of law in the West and could lead to quite a grim future – a seven-year reputation for fearlessly finding the truth and fearlessly that are otherwise not being well reported.” William Binney describes this as a totalitarianism.” publishing it,” he says. “The only smart thing to do in NSW is to vote Assange has been the subject of an arrest warrant for almost three But Assange isn’t against global connectivity, and says it has seen the for WikiLeaks in the Senate.” years following allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden, under laws creation of a new political will shaped by the propagation of opinion Assange believes there has to be another party in the Senate that specific to that country. around the world. is not represented in the House of Representatives, arguing a party “I have been detained for something like 997 days now in the UK, “Now on the other hand, the same technological tendencies of of supervision is needed to monitor the major parties and expose that’s a pretty strange situation where you can be held in solitary everything being wired and networked together is producing another wrongdoing. confinement, under house arrest and not allowed to leave the country important phenomena, that is the creation of a new body politics,” he “[Once a party] gets into government it will use its power over the without ever having been charged,” he says. says. expenditure and various Australian bureaucratic institutions - from the Critics of Assange highlight his failure in travelling to Sweden to face “So as everyone is communicating with each other, they’re also military up to health and social security - to give sweet deals to its mates questioning in an effort to clear his name. But he says it is normal for exchanging their views about what is right and what is wrong and that is and pursue its ideological agenda,” he says. police to visit other countries if seeking to question a suspect. creating a new source of political will. “That has to be monitored and scrutinised and misbehaviour exposed. “The more interesting question is why Sweden hasn’t come here “Supportive phenomenon has led to a doubling of political parties in That’s what WikiLeaks does in the investigative journalism outlet and which is normal in other cases?” he asks. “Why hasn’t Sweden Australia. The last time [that happened] was in response to the Great that’s what we intend to do in the Senate.” guaranteed to the state of Ecuador that it will not extradite me to the Depression, but Australia is not going through an economic crisis – so The WikiLeaks Party champions freedom of the press and US? Such diplomatic guarantee in extradition is normal.” what’s happening? It seems that there is a new political awakening in safeguarding people from surveillance. The party is opposed to the It has been speculated that the Swedish case against Assange could Australia.” Council commits to Bronte House Sustainable this would fit into the sustainable schools program where we teach BY PAUL GREGOIRE our heritage item preserved. It’s a pity garden pops kids how to use worm farms, Waverley Council has committed to other councillors didn’t feel the same Published fortnightly and distributed to Bondi Beach, Bondi, continue ownership and preservation way about the Boot Factory.” up at Bondi how to plant native plants, and Bondi Junction, Dover Heights, Waverley, Tamarama, of Bronte House, ending uncertainty But Ms Betts said the repairing how to grow vegetables,” she Clovelly, Randwick, Rose Bay, Coogee and Maroubra. about the future of the heritage house. lease has worked in the past and that BY ROBERT NORTH said. Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677. Published by the Council has resolved to undertake the tenants “do repairs up to a certain Bondi Beach has received The ecoPOPS reduce the Alternative Media Group of Australia. While every effort is any major renovations deemed value”. a touch of green with the high temperatures which occur made to ensure accuracy of content, The Bondi View takes to be not best carried out under “We have always known that the installation of a temporary pop- in metropolitan areas due to no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. the repairing lease, including the roof would be much more expensive. up sustainable garden at Roscoe reduced levels of vegetation and ABN 48 135 222 169 replacement of the roof with an It would fall outside that repairing St Mall. high levels of heat absorbing expected cost of $250,000 from Known as an ecoPOP, the Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons lease,” she said. materials, such as concrete and Council’s maintenance expenditure. small freestanding garden bed Group Manager: Chris Peken The Bondi Boot Factory, one of “Council wants to protect and was designed by sustainability asphalt. Group Editor: Marcus Braid only two remaining boot factories in value this cherished piece of local coach Michael Mobbs. “If the Council gets enough Bondi View Editor: Daniel Paperny Sydney, was sentenced to demolition heritage, so it can be enjoyed by future Featuring edible plants, of these out, they will be able to Editors: Peter Hackney and Adam Hunt after a rescission motion was rejected generations,” said Waverley Mayor ecoPOPs have a solar-powered cool the streets and reduce the Contributors: Paul Gregoire, Robert North, Bernadette in April to save the site.