Australian Politics Forum - Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom

athos

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Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:40am

Australian Senate seat a possible path to freedom for Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange believes winning a seat in the Australian Senate would force the US and others pursuing him to back down, securing his safe passage out of the UK following his 8-month confinement at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.
The September 14 elections in Australia could provide a platform for a man once described by Vice President Joe Biden as a “high-tech terrorist,” by raising the political stakes for those seeking his extradition, Assange explained in a recent interview with Australian website the Conversation.
By winning a seat in Australia’s upper house, “the US Department of Justice won’t want to spark an international diplomatic row,” Assange was quoted as saying.
“It will drop its grand jury espionage investigation. The Cameron government will follow suit,” he continued, adding that “the political costs of the current standoff will be higher still” if UK authorities insist on blocking his safe passage out of the country.
http://rt.com/news/assange-senate-bid-freedom-498/
On the other hand the fact is that Australia is not sovereign country but is still a British colony (Head of Australian state is the British Queen and under constitution she has right to dismiss even Australian prime minister).
Also knowing that Australia is considered as American puppet, it is unlikely that Britain and USA will change their stand on Asange’s case.

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Do we need to be always politically correct.
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John Smith Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 74677 Gender:	Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom Reply #1 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:43am So he's not doing it because he's concerned about the welfare of Australia, he just see's it as his 'get out of jail free' card. Why would anyone want him representing them?
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athos

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #2 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:45am

John Smith wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:43am:

So he's not doing it because he's concerned about the welfare of Australia, he just see's it as his 'get out of jail free' card. Why would anyone want him representing them?

I guess to promote democracy and freedom of speech in Australia and the world.

All Aussies should vote for him.

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Do we need to be always politically correct.
In the world of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

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KJT1981 Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1822	Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom Reply #3 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:50am He has as much chance of winning a senate seat as Pope Benedict has of being our next GG.
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John Smith

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #4 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:50am

athos wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:45am:

John Smith wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:43am:

So he's not doing it because he's concerned about the welfare of Australia, he just see's it as his 'get out of jail free' card. Why would anyone want him representing them?

I guess to promote democracy and freedom of speech in Australia and the world.

bullsh it .... then maybe he should respect the laws of democratic countries. ....... he's just scared of the yanks and is trying to find a way out of it. They should give him the senate seat then remove him from the position after extraditing him to the US.

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Our esteemed leader:
I hope that bitch who was running their brothels for them gets raped with a cactus.

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Sir Spot of Borg Gold Member Offline WE ARE BORG Posts: 26509 Australia	Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom Reply #5 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 11:13am Gawd things arent so black and white. Its prolly BOTH reasons. SOB
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Quantum

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #6 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:00pm

If he really believed that he wouldn't be speaking about it openly. Sweden isn't going to simply forget the accusations because he became a senator, nor will the UK ignore their responsibilities to Sweden in this case. This is nothing but an attempt to build fan support hoping they will take his senate run seriously... 'vote for me to set me free'... as opposed to voting for the best person for the job. It is just another type of vote buying.

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Doctor Jolly Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 3808	Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom Reply #7 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:03pm KJT1981 wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 10:50am: He has as much chance of winning a senate seat as Pope Benedict has of being our next GG. I'd say he's an absolute shoe-in for a senate seat. There are enough supporters of freedom of information in this country to get him over the line.
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polite_gandalf

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #8 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

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Outlawing the enemy's uniform - hijab, islamic beard - is not depriving one's own people of their freedoms.

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Doctor Jolly

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #9 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm

polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm:

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Assange contesting a senate seat is a great chance for supporters of freedom to voice their opinion. He'll get an avanlanche of votes. Hes one of those people who polarises views. Many hate him, many love him.

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KJT1981

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #10 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:45pm

Doctor Jolly wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm:

polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm:

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Dear Dr Jolly.

Sometimes your posts are entertaining.

Sometimes your posts are pure crap.

The quoted post is of the latter. Diplomatic immunity?

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Quantum

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #11 - Feb 19^th, 2013 at 1:27pm

Doctor Jolly wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm:

polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm:

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Assange contesting a senate seat is a great chance for supporters of freedom to voice their opinion. He'll get an avanlanche of votes. Hes one of those people who polarises views. Many hate him, many love him.

Firstly, being in politics does not automatically give someone diplomatic immunity. There is no way assange is going to walk out on to the London streets and be immune from the police waiting for him.

Secondly, even if Assange was given immunity, that does not mean he can walk back into Australia without consequences. If a real Australian diplomat was to commit a crime in a foreign nation they can still be trialled in an Australian court when they get home. Diplomatic immunity is not a license to do what ever you want overseas.

With the rape accusation, the skipping bail, plus the people who put the money up who are seeking compensation, assange is going to be fighting the law for years to come. He will never sit in the senate.

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polite_gandalf

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #12 - Feb 20^th, 2013 at 9:11am

Doctor Jolly wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm:

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Assange contesting a senate seat is a great chance for supporters of freedom to voice their opinion. He'll get an avanlanche of votes. Hes one of those people who polarises views. Many hate him, many love him.

Antony Green wrote an interesting piece detailing the technicalities of Assange's bid.

In regards to his eligibility to stand, apparently a section in the constitution may play a role:

Quote:

Then there is Section 44 (i) of the Constitution that disqualifies any person who “is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power”.

I’m not sure how Mr Assange’s current status as an asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy comes into play with Section 44. If Mr Assange was elected and if Section 44 were to be a problem, then the High Court could rule after the election that Mr Assange was not eligible to be a Senator and therefore not eligible to be a candidate. In that case, the court would instruct a re-count take place in which case the second on his party ticket would almost certainly be elected in his place

Interesting. What Green is saying is that currently Ecuador is protecting him from being extradited to Sweden, and as such that may be interpreted as him being “under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power" and/or "subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power".

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A resident Islam critic who claims to represent western values said:
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Outlawing the enemy's uniform - hijab, islamic beard - is not depriving one's own people of their freedoms.

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Doctor Jolly

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #13 - Feb 20^th, 2013 at 9:21am

KJT1981 wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:45pm:

Doctor Jolly wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm:

polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm:

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Dear Dr Jolly.

Sometimes your posts are entertaining.

Thanks

Quote:

Sometimes your posts are pure crap.

I have never posted crap

Quote:

The quoted post is of the latter. Diplomatic immunity?

Ok, it was a bit of a stretch, but thats the Assange is not guitly of an crime. Sure he's upset a lot of powerful people, but the trumpted up charge in sweden would be thrown out of any court of Australia in a heartbeat.

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Karnal

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Re: Assange’s senate seat a possible path to freedom
Reply #14 - Feb 21^st, 2013 at 5:12pm

KJT1981 wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:45pm:

Doctor Jolly wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:41pm:

polite_gandalf wrote on Feb 19^th, 2013 at 12:36pm:

Assange will almost certainly not get enough votes to get elected - even if he is allowed to stand (and thats still a big if).

And then even if he does get elected, I can't imagine how he could get his way to Australia to take his seat. Then if he is absent from parliament for long enough, his seat will be declared vacant, and someone else will have to replace him.

In short, Assange's senate bid is a non-starter.

Why would he not be able to stand ?

Once elected he can simply walk out of the embassy and catch a plane, claiming diplomatic emunity.

Dear Dr Jolly.

Sometimes your posts are entertaining.

Sometimes your posts are pure crap.

The quoted post is of the latter. Diplomatic immunity?

The same is true for Matty, KJT. If he was elected to parliament from New Zealand he would be free to return to Australia. He could claim an amnesty from the ATO for his unpaid carbon tax.

Thoughts?

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