- THE WikiLeaks project has been officially cleared of breaking Australian law.
Wikileaks cleared of Australian crime
AFP says WikiLeaks has committed no criminal offence in Australia and there is no need for an investigation.
The Australian Federal Police today said an investigation which began November 30 had detected no offences.
This finding is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Julia Gillard who initially said the leaking of confidential cables to Washington from the US Embassy in Canberra was illegal.
Ms Gillard later modified her position by saying the leaks had been based on an illegality - the original downloading of the diplomatic messages by a junior American soldier.
Attorney General Rob McClelland directed the AFP to examine "the matter relating to the publishing of United States (US) embassy cables containing classified information on the WikiLeaks website".
The police today said: "The AFP examined material relevant to potential Australian offences to determine whether an official investigation was warranted.
"The AFP has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction.
"Where additional cables are published and criminal offences are suspected, these matters should be referred to the AFP for evaluation."
Cables published so far have established that the Australian public was given a rosier outlook on our military involvement in Afghanistan than our leaders, particularly current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, held in private.
It has also been revealed that when Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was looking at taking the top job after two or three elections, according to a junior MP.
Most of the revelations have been embarrassing to the Government, and less frequently to the Liberals.
Gillard 'not a fan'
Prime Minister Gillard said today she continued to believe the distribution of the diplomatic messages was "grossly irresponsible" but acknowledged no Australian laws had been broken so far.
She said there was no intention to change the law to cover any future mass leaks.
"There are some people who are fans of this conduct. I most certainly am not," Ms Gillard told reporters in Sydney.
She said the initial taking of the documents - what she called "the foundation stone of Wikileaks" - had breached US laws. US Army Private Bradley Manning is now under arrest in America in relation to the removal of confidential files.
Ms Gillard denied she had originally branded Wikileaks itself illegal when she said two weeks ago: "I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the Wikileaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do."
Ms Gillard told reporters today she was referring to the theft of the cables from secret files.
"Now," she told reporters today, "I know there are a lot of people who are fans of Wikileaks. Let me make it very, very clear: I am not.
"This is a grossly irresponsible matter in my view. The release of all of this documentation has ben grossly irresponsible."
She said she supported whistleblowers who alerted the public to cases when things had gone wrong, but "that is not the circumstance here with Wikileaks, in my view".
"This has been a wholesale release of information without regard to national interest questions," she said.
The Australian Federal Police today said an investigation which began November 30 had detected no offences.This finding is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Julia Gillard who initially said the leaking of confidential cables to Washington from the US Embassy in Canberra was illegal.
Ms Gillard later modified her position by saying the leaks had been based on an illegality - the original downloading of the diplomatic messages by a junior American soldier.
Attorney General Rob McClelland directed the AFP to examine "the matter relating to the publishing of United States (US) embassy cables containing classified information on the WikiLeaks website".
The police today said: "The AFP examined material relevant to potential Australian offences to determine whether an official investigation was warranted.
"The AFP has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction.
"Where additional cables are published and criminal offences are suspected, these matters should be referred to the AFP for evaluation."
Cables published so far have established that the Australian public was given a rosier outlook on our military involvement in Afghanistan than our leaders, particularly current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, held in private.
It has also been revealed that when Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was looking at taking the top job after two or three elections, according to a junior MP.
Most of the revelations have been embarrassing to the Government, and less frequently to the Liberals.
Gillard 'not a fan'
Prime Minister Gillard said today she continued to believe the distribution of the diplomatic messages was "grossly irresponsible" but acknowledged no Australian laws had been broken so far.She said there was no intention to change the law to cover any future mass leaks.
"There are some people who are fans of this conduct. I most certainly am not," Ms Gillard told reporters in Sydney.
She said the initial taking of the documents - what she called "the foundation stone of Wikileaks" - had breached US laws. US Army Private Bradley Manning is now under arrest in America in relation to the removal of confidential files.
Ms Gillard denied she had originally branded Wikileaks itself illegal when she said two weeks ago: "I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the Wikileaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do."
Ms Gillard told reporters today she was referring to the theft of the cables from secret files.
"Now," she told reporters today, "I know there are a lot of people who are fans of Wikileaks. Let me make it very, very clear: I am not.
"This is a grossly irresponsible matter in my view. The release of all of this documentation has ben grossly irresponsible."
She said she supported whistleblowers who alerted the public to cases when things had gone wrong, but "that is not the circumstance here with Wikileaks, in my view".
"This has been a wholesale release of information without regard to national interest questions," she said.
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