Lismore City Council motion to denounce Julian Assange extradition

A notice of motion before Lismore councillors would see them fight for former resident Julian Assange amid growing flood recovery pressures.

A controversial upcoming council vote could see Lismore Council give their support to troubled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange amid a raft of flood recovery measures.

Councillor Adam Guise has lodged a notice of motion for Tuesday’s council meeting that would see Lismore City Council write to the Federal Government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and relevant ministers denouncing the extradition of Julian Assange from the UK and urges Mr Albanese to make a public statement denouncing the extradition.

However, due to the Lismore Council Meeting running overtime the item was not discussed on July 12,2022.

In his agenda comments Mr Guise said Mr Assange had been imprisoned since 2010.

“His extradition and potential sentence is a grave threat to public interest journalism and incompatible with the human rights that Australians hold, ”Mr Guise said.

“The power of a public statement from Julian Assange‘s home country cannot be understated.”

Julian (who was known as Jules) Assange (black t-shirt) in a class photo at Goolmangar Public School in Goolmangar, NSW in a 1970s photo.

The motion would not require funding of staff consultation according to the council agenda.

The move would not be the first time council has made steps to support the former Lismore resident.

In 2020, Lismore City Council passed an official motion in support of Mr Assange, joining Darebin, Yarra and Moreland Melbourne Councils.

At the time, councillor Darlene Cook said many still thought of Mr Assange as a “local boy”.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at court, London May 1, 2019. Picture: Daniel LEAL / AFP

Mr Assange lived in Terania Street, North Lismore, with his puppeteering parents from the mid-70s to the early 1980s, attending Goolmangar Public School from 1979 to 1983.

Mr Assange’s grandfather Warren Hawkins, was principal of the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education, now Southern Cross University.

He also grew up in nearby Mullumbimby.

The WikiLeaks founder is fighting extradition to the US for 18 criminal charges, including spying, over WikiLeaks’ release of classified military records and documents, related to Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2010 and 2011. He faces up to 175 years in prison.

The Lismore council motion comes amid two other major flood-related notices of motion, including pushes for further council discussion with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation and support for a for house relocations, buy backs and land swaps.

Lismore City Council is still reeling with the effects of the devastating February/March floods with Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg telling ABC’s Four Corners on Monday that council alone couldn’t deal with the recovery.

“You can’t do the work that needs to be done in Lismore through the council,” he said.

He added that council “needed” be sacked to allow for an autocratic approach.