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WIKILEAKS: THE SECRETAUSTRALIAN FILES

INCGSTPUBLISHED IN MELBOURNE SINCE 1854 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010 $1.50

ScathingattacksonRudd

Not entirely in step: Kevin Rudd with former US president George Bush on a visit to Washington in March, 2008, months after Mr Rudd became prime minister. PICTURE: BLOOMBERG

EDITORIALPAGE 16

THE FILES AND THE AGE

The Agehas secured accessto hundreds of WikiLeaksdocuments that reveal USembassy assessments of Australia on a range of important issues. Webegin publishing today.

Some kinds of embarrassment do not

change public perceptions. Thatis not likely to be the case here,because the cables mentioning Mr Rudd portray the man whohas closely directed Australianforeign policy since 2007 as aperson whose judgment is toooften warped by his own egotism.

American envoysbluntassessments Confidential cablesto Washingtonexposed

ContinuedPAGE2

FOREIGN Minister Kevin Ruddis an abrasive, impulsive con-trol freak who presided over aseries of foreign policy blundersduring his time as prime minis-ter, according to secret UnitedStates diplomatic cables.

The scathing assessment detailed in messages sent by theUS embassy in Canberra to Sec-retaries of State CondoleezzaRice and Hillary Clinton overseveral years are among hun-dreds of US State Departmentcables relating to Australia

obtained by WikiLeaks andmade available exclusively toThe Age .

Rudd . . . undoubtedly believes that with his intellect,his six years as a diplomat in the1980s and his five years asshadow foreign minister, he hasthe background and the ability to direct Australias foreignpolicy. His performance so far,however, demonstrates that hedoes not have the staff or theexperience to do the job prop-erly, the embassy bluntly observed in November 2009.

The cables show how initially favourable American impres-sions of Mr Rudd, as a safe pairof hands, were quickly replaced

by sharp criticism of his micro-management and mishandling of diplomacy as he focused onphoto and media opportunities.

In a December 2008 review of the first year of the Rudd gov-ernment, US ambassadorRobert McCallum characterisedits performance as generally competent and noted Mr Ruddwas focused on developing good relations with the incom-ing US administration [of Presi-dent Barack Obama], and iseager to be seen as a majorglobal player.

Despite this, what were des-cribed as Rudds foreign policy mistakes formed the centre-piece of the ambassadors evalu-ation. Mr McCallum thought theprime ministers diplomaticmissteps largely arose from hispropensity to make snapannouncements without con-sulting other countries or withinthe Australian government.

According tothe embassy, thegovernments significant blun-ders began when then foreignmin ister S tephen Smi thannounced in February 2008that Australia would not supportstrategic dialogue between Aus-tralia, the US, Japan and Indiaout of deference to China. Thiswas done without advance con-sultation and at a joint pressavailability with visiting ChineseForeignMinister YangJiechi,MrMcCallum wrote.

Mr Rudds June 2008 speechannouncing that he would pushforthe creationof anAsia-PacificCommunitylooselybasedon theEuropean Union was cited as afurther example of a major initi-ative undertaken withoutadvance consultation with eitherother countries (including South-East Asian nations, lead-ing Singaporean officials to labelthe idea dead on arrival) or

within the Australian govern-ment (including with his pro-posed special envoy to promotethe concept, veteran diplomatRichard Woolcott).

SimilarlyMr Rudds establish-ment of an international com-mission on nuclear disar-mament and non-proliferationwas rolled out . . . during aphoto-op heavy trip to Japan . . .His Japanese hosts were giveninsufficient advance notice andrefused a request for a jointannouncement.

The US embassy noted thatMr Rudd did not consult any of the five nuclear weapons stateson the United Nations Security Council and that Russia had

lodged a formal protest. One of Mr Rudds staff gave the USembassy a few hours advancenotice of the announcementbut without details.

The cables also refer to con-trol freak tendencies and per-sistent criticism from senior civilservants, journalists and parlia-mentarians thatRuddis a micro-manager obsessed with man-aging the media cycle ratherthan engaging in collaborativedecision-making.

Eleven months later, inNovember 2009, the embassy delivered another sharp assess-ment that Mr Rudd dominatedforeign policy decision-making,leaving his foreign minister to

perform mundane, ceremonialdutiesand relegatingthe Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs andTrade (DFAT) to a backwater.

Other foreign diplomats, inprivate conversations with us,have noted how much DFATseemed to be out of the loop,US Charge dAffaires Dan Clunereported. The Israeli ambas-sador [Yuval Rotem] told us thatsenior DFAT officials are frank inasking him what PM Rudd is upto and admit that they are out of

Beazley vowed tosupport Washington inwar withChinaByPHILIP DORLINGand RICHARD BAKER

ContinuedPAGE 2

ASSANGEARRESTEDPAGE 2

AUSTRALIAS ambassador tothe US and former oppositionleader, Kim Beazley, assuredAmerican officials that Australiawould always side with the USin the event of a war with China,a confidential diplomatic cablereveals.

Mr Beazleys remarks, madein a 2006 meeting with the thenUS ambassador Robert McCal-lum just months before KevinRudd replaced him as Labor

leader, are significant becauseno Australian federal politicalleader has publicly disclosedwhat position they believe thenation should take if the US andChina came to blows over Tai-wan an event that wouldpresent Australias greatest for-eign policy dilemma.

The cable, classified as con-fidential and not to be disclosedoutside the US government,gave the following summary of Mr Beazleys comments: In theevent of a war between theUnited States and China, Aus-

tralia would have absolutely noalternative but to line up mili-tarily beside the US. Otherwisethe alliance would be effectively dead and buried, something that Australia could never affordto see happen.

The cable is one of hundredsof US State Department docu-ments relevant to Australiareleased by the WikiLeaks web-site to The Age . Two cablesreveal further insights into Aus-tralias relations with China,including a 2007 pledge by anewly elected Mr Rudd to US

officials to get inside theheads of Chinas leaders andthe Australian governmentsbelief that China had tried tointimidate it through a series of actions in 2009, including thearrest of former Rio Tinto exec-utive Stern Hu.

Mr Beazley was commenting on 2004 remarks by the thenHoward government foreignaffairs minister, AlexanderDowner, that a conflict betweenAmerica and China over Taiwanwould not necessarily triggerAustralias obligations under the

ANZUS treaty with the US. TheANZUS treaty, which came intoforce in 1952, commits Australiaand the US to respond if thearmed forces of the other party in the Pacific come underattack.

Mr Downers comments which he insisted were takenout of context caused con-cern in Washington and promp-ted the then US ambassadorTom Schieffer to declare thatAmerica expected Australi assupport in the event of conflictover Taiwan.

The then prime ministerJohn Howard refused to com-ment publicly on what Australiawould do if hostility broke outbetween the US and China,saying it was a hypotheticalsituation.

However, Mr Beazley toldMr McCallum that Mr Downershould have known better thanto have given Beijing any notionthat Canberra would be able tosit out a conflict, the cablestates.

The publication of Mr Beaz-leys remarks comes at a sensi-

tive time in Australias increas-ingly complex relationship withChina. Earlier this week,another cable released by Wik iLeaks revea led how Mr Rudd, now Australias For-eign Affairs Minister, last yeartoldUS Secretaryof StateHillary Clinton to be prepared todeploy force if efforts to inte-grate China into the interna-tional community failed.

A fresh WikiLeaks cablereleased to TheAge discloses theAustralian governments belief

The day Kevin stoodup GeorgeByPHILIP DORLING

KEVINRudddeeplyoffendedtheUS withan aggressivepushtomeet thenpresidentGeorgeW. Bush inWashingtonin late2008,onlyto abruptlycancelthemeetingtwo dayslater.

Thiswas followedbywhatAmericanssaw asMr Ruddsself-serving and inaccurateleakingof detailsof anOctober2008phonecall betweenMr BushandMr Rudd some-thingtheUS ambassadortoAustraliasaidcastfurtherdoubtonRudds foreignpolicy judgment.

Aconfidentialcabledetailsthat,aheadof a September2008visittotheUS toattendtheannualUnitedNationssummit,MrRudds office demandedameetingwith MrBush.

After making an aggressive,andultimatelysuccessful,pushfora meeting,the PMs Officeabruptlycancelled themeeting twodayslater,sayingthatRuddcouldnotcome toWashington,thenUS ambassadorRobertMcCallumwrotein thecable,marked forAmericaneyesonly.

MrRuddendedupgoingtoNewYorkanddeliveringaspeech toa near-empty hallof theUN GeneralAssembly,where membersof hisstaffwereseenasleepin theaudience.

MrMcCallum wasalsohighlycriticalof MrRuddsbehaviouraftera newspaperreportthatdetaileda privateconversation thethen primeministerheld withMr Bush.Thearticlemade MrBush appearfoolishat theoutsetof theglobalfinancialcrisis,reporting MrRudd wasstunnedtohearBush say,Whatsthe G20? .

ThedepthofUS angerrevealedin thecablehelpsexplainthe coldshoulderMr BushgaveMr RuddduringaNovember2008 G20summit.

MrRudd soughtto dismissasmediaspeculationat thetimethattheleakeddetailsaboutthephonecallhad damagedhisrelationswiththe WhiteHouse.

S PECIAL R EPORTP HILIP D ORLING

Gillard condemnsleaks PAGE 2GeoffreyRobertsonto defendAssange PAGE2

COMMENT & DEBATEJohnGarnaut PAGE17

A control freak prone to missteps, mistakes . . . what US officials really thought of our form

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OPINION

John Garnaut on Chinasforeign policy dilemmaChinas leaders recog-nise that their countrysassertiveness is caus-inganxietyin SouthKorea and across theregion. PAGE 17

London police arrest WikiLeaks founderSweden issues European warrantByPAOLA TOTAROLONDON

A detail from the Interpol website on December 6 shows the appeal for the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

JULIAN Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website that leak-ed thousands of classified USmilitary and State Departmentdocuments, has been arrestedby London police over rapeallegations made in Sweden.

The Metropolitan Policeextradition unit confirmed at10.30am London time yesterday that the 29-year-old Australianhad been arrested by appoint-ment on a European arrestwarrant an hour earlier.

He was expected to appear inthe City of Westminster magis-trates court overnight.

The Swedish warrant citesone count of unlawful coercion,two counts of sexual molesta-tion and one count of rape allallegedly committed in Augustthis year.

As Mr Assange met Londonpolice, human-rights lawyerGeoffrey Robertson, QC, cutshort his summer holiday inSydney to prepare to representWikiLeaks founder with anotherspecialist extradition lawyerfrom his Doughty Street Cham-bers.

London legalsources warnedthat the European arrest war-rant issued over sexual assaultclaims in Sweden was difficultto avoid or challenge. MrAssange and his lawyers plan tofight the extradition with every available resource.

There is growing fear thatthis case could lead to a han-dover to US authorities over therelease of the US diplomaticcables.

The Age believes that MrRobertson, whose chambers are

one of the few with a specialistin extradition proceedings withScandinavian nations, has beenin contact with Mr Assangeabout his defence and has metfederal Attorney-General RobertMcClelland about the case.

Mr Assanges arrest came ashis whistleblower website con-tinued to battle a seemingly global effort to block release of further information led by USAttorney-General Eric Holder.Mr Holder said he had author-ised significant actions aimed atprosecuting the WikiLeaksfounder but refused to specify what these might be.

However, a statement fromWikiLeaks after the arrest saidthat the actions against MrAssange would not affect itsoperations and that it wouldrelease more cables overnight asusual.

Mr Assange, 39, was reportedby The Guardian to be seeking supporters to put up surety andbail to stave off attempts to holdhim. He reportedly told friendshe was increasingly convincedthe US was behind Swedishattempts to extradite him.

He has previously said thatthe original allegations were theproduct of personal issues buthe bel i eved Sweden hadbehaved as a cipher for theUS.

He is wanted by Swedishdetectives after two womenclaimed they were sexually assaulted by him when he vis-ited the country last August. TheSwedish Supreme Court upheldan order to detain him for ques-tioning after he successfully appealed against two lowercourt rulings.

Mr Assange has said he

declined to return to Sweden toface prosecutors because hefeared he would not receive afair trial and that prosecutorshad requested that he be heldin solitary confinement.

But the constant need to beon the move is taking its toll andhe has conceded he is becoming exhausted by the battle to keepdefending the allegations inSweden while running the care-fully managed release of the UScables.

The sites access to funds is

also being slowly squeezed asfinancial institutions succumbto US and other diplomaticpressure.

US political rhetoric andattacks against WikiLeaks arealso escalating, with formervice-presidential candidateSarah Palin describing MrAssange as an anti-Americanoperative with blood on hishands. Veteran RepublicanMike Huckabee said anything less than execution is too kind apenalty.

Beazleyvowedto back US

From PAGE 1

that China had attempted tointimidate it during 2009through aggressive lobbying,increased public criticism, thearrest of Mr Hu and the time-worn tactic of cancelling high-level visits.

The confidential December2009 cable from the US embassy in Beijing quotes the Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs andTrades first assistant secretary for north Asia, Graham Fletcher,as saying Australia had stood upto the Chinese pressure andforced its leaders to soften theirapproachin thelatterpart oftheyear.

We learned we can makethem blink, the cable quotesMr Fletcher as saying, beforeadding his view that it was only round one.

Mr Fletcher is recordeddescribing how China had goneto great lengths to pressure Aus-tralia not to give Uighur leaderRebiya Kadeer a visa last year,including privately warning amajor Australian bank thatsponsors the National PressClub to use its influence toblock a Kadeer speech there.

He told the US officials of thefederal governments concernthat cracking down too hard onChinese lobbying in Australiawould simply d r ive i tunderground.

Meanwhile, a previously unreleased December 2007cable from the US embassy inCanberra following a meeting b et wee n M r R ud d a ndMr McCallum records Mr Ruddas stating his intention toengage China and get insidethe heads of their senior leader-ship on their long-term plans.

Scathing attacks on Rudd revealed in US diplomatic cables

The former US ambassador to Australia, Robert McCallum, being farewelled by Mr Rudd last year. PICTURE: ADAM HOLLINGWORTH

From PAGE 1

the loop. Mr Clune added thatmorale within DFAT had plum-meted, according to our con-tacts inside as well as outsidethe department.

The embassy also assignedblame for DFATs decline to theweakness of Mr Smith, who wasdismissedas beingonvacation.

Surprised by his appoint-ment as foreign minister, Smithhas been very tentative in

asserting himself within thegovernment, Mr Clune wrote.DFAT contacts lamented thatSmith took a very legalisticapproach to making decisions,demanding very detailed andtime-consuming analysis by thedepartment and using the questfor more information to defermaking decisions.

David Pearl, a Treasury offi-cial who served on Mr Smithsstaff in 2004, told American dip-lomats that the foreign minister

was very smart, but intimid-ated both by the foreign policy issues themselves and theknowledge that PM Rudd is fol-lowing them so closely.

Former DFAT first assistantsecretary for north Asia, PeterBaxter, lamented to embassy officers that Smiths desire toavoid overruling DFAT recom-mendations meant that he oftendelayed decisions to the pointthat the PMs office stepped inand took over.

The US embassy furtherrecounted that after Israel initi-ated its military offensive inGaza in December 2008, IsraeliAmbassador Yuval Rotem con-tacted Mr Smith at his home inPerth toask forAustralias publicsupport. Despite the obviousdiplomatic and political sensit-ivity of the issue, Rotem told[the embassy] that Smithsresponse was that he was onvacation, and that the ambas-sador needed to contact deputy

prime minister Gillard, who wasacting prime minister and for-eign minister at the time.

Paradoxically, Mr Ruddsdetermination to dominate theforeign policy agenda dimin-ished the influence of his owndepartment, with one DFATassistant secretary explaining tothe embassy that the foreignpolicy staff of the Departmentof the Prime Minister and Cab-inet (PM&C) were over-whelmed supporting Rudds

foreign policy activities, particu-larly his travel, which hasreduced its ability to push itsown agenda.

In concluding his assess-ment, Mr Clune suggested thatMr Rudds haphazard, overly secretive decision-making pro-cess would continue to gener-ate foreign policy problems.

Seven months later, Mr Ruddlost the prime ministership, buthe remains very much in chargeof Australias diplomacy.

Information theft illegal, says GillardPRIME Minister Julia Gillardcould not say yesterday thatJulian Assange had broken any Australia law but declared thefoundation stone of theWikiLeaks affair was an illegalact.

In a fresh condemnation of Mr Assange, she said: Informa-tion was taken and that wasillegal so lets not try to put

any glosses on this. Informationwould not be on WikiLeaks if there had not been an illegal actundertaken. The foundationstone is an illegal act that cer-tainly breached the laws of theUnited States of America.

She said Australia FederalPolice had yet to provide adviceabout any potential criminalconduct by Mr Assange, and she

highlighted a warrantfor allegedsexual assault in Sweden.

Opposition frontbencherMalcolm Turnbull, who in thefamous Spycatcher case arguedsuccessfully for a former MI5officers right to publish hismemoirs, yesterday accused MsGillard of not knowing what shewas talking about.

MICHELLE GRATTAN

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How BHP sank $21bn Rio deal

Tall, lean and travelling as light as a fugitive, hes a 21st century cyber cowboy.Clint Eastwood with a laptop and a data stick.

ANDREW RULE on the enigmatic Julian Assange INSIGHT

Mining giants intense lobbyingledtocollapseofChinalcobid

CHINA AND THE BIG MINERSTHE WIKILEAKS FILES: DAY 4

ByPHILIP DORLINGand RICHARD BAKER

Continued PAGE4

ARTWORK: MICHAEL WHITEHEAD

MINING giant BHP Billiton lob-bied intensively behind thescenes to wreck a $21 billioninvestment deal between rivalR io Tin to a nd C hi ne segovernment-owned Chinalco,leaked US government cablesreveal.

According to a confidentialUS embassy cable obtained by the Wikileaks website andreleased to The Age , federalTreasurer Wayne Swans chief of staff told American embassy officials that BHP had out-manoeuvred its rival to orches-t rate the col lapse o f theChinalco deal.

The revelation is embarrass-ing for BHP Billiton, which hasconsistentlyrefusedto bedrawnon suggestions it had engagedin a campaign to persuade fed-eral government ministers notto approve Chinalcos push todouble its stake in Rio Tinto.

On June 5 last year, theChinese bid to lift its investmentin Rio Tinto to 18 per cent col-lapsed and Rio Tinto immedi-ately announced a joint venturewith BHP Billiton to combinetheir West Australian iron oreoperations.

Treasurer Wayne Swanschief of staff has told us on sev-eral occasions that BHP hasplayed its cards with consum-mate skill, in part due to theincreasing marginalisation of

BHP CEO Marius Kloppers asBHP chairman Don Argus hastaken the lead in lobbying theGOA (government of Australia)withtheable assistanceof BHPswell-connected VP for govern-ment relations, Bernie Delaney,the June 7 cable said.

The cable conf i rms anaccount by Treasurys top for-mer China economist, StephenJoske, who last year said MrArgus and other BHP Billitonexecutives targeted then primeminister Kevin Rudd, Mr Swan,Resources Minister Martin Fer-guson and their advisers overChinalcos bid to invest more inRio Tinto.

Emails from BHP were cir-culating at the highest levels,copied in to ministers offices,about all the China Inc stuff,

Mr Joske told The Age last yearafter leaving Treasury in July.

The US government cablesaid Rio Tintos decision to rejectwhat would have been Chinasbiggest foreign investmentspared the Australian govern-ment from having to make atough decision on whether toapprove the proposal.

But US embassy officials inCanberra noted it left Mr Ruddhavingto deal with anunhappy China.

We noticed a very glumChinese ambassador Zhang Junsai waiting outside Ruddsoffice with the Chinalco CEOXiong Weiping on the afternoonof June 5, the cable said.

In an early assessment, theCanberra embassy warnedWashington that the proposedChinalco deal could lead toa wave of strategic mining investments from China whichcould lead to closer resourcesand energy trade and invest-ment ties between China andAustralia.

The embassy also reportedthat Chinese-based resourceanalysts had assessed that theproposed deal would giveChinalco a strong degree of influence over Rios copper, ironore and aluminum operations,if not outright control, via thejoint strategic alliances thatwould be formed to managethose assets.

The American officials

Stern Hu: Rios secret roleByPHILIP DORLINGand RICHARD BAKER

Continued PAGE4

RIO Tin to p r iva te ly gaveChinese security authoritiesincriminating evidence relating to jailed former staff, including senior executive Stern Hu, whilethe company was publicly fight-ing their prosecution on corrup-tion charges last year.

The company informed theauthorities that it had found$4400 in cash in the room of oneof the four employees who hadbeen arrested and were later

convicted of taking bribes andstealing commercial secrets.

The revelation is containedin a confidential cable from USgovernment representatives inTaiwan obtained by the Wiki-leaks website and releasedexclusively to The Age .

The cable, sent on Septem-ber 16 last year, reports RioTinto iron ore sales chief IanBauert telling the US repre-sentatives the companysinternal investigators had foundthat one of its Shanghai-basedemployees had received $20,000

in dividends from privateChinese steel mills, while the$4400 was found in the room of another worker almost twomonths after it was searchedand sealed by Chinese authori-ties.

Rios internal investigationshave uncovered no evidence of employees stealing secrets buthave found two employeesho ld ing rela tively smallamounts of money from sourcesthey cannot verify, the cablenoted.

Amystery,amansion,andamanofmettle

Continued PAGE 4

GETTINGtoWikiLeakssecretheadquarters tookquitesometimeandwas notwithoutcomplication.

Earlierthis year, a carefulreadingof statementsby WikiLeaksfounderandeditor-in-chiefJulianAssangeledmetoconcludehissmallorganisa-tionhad landed whatcouldbethebiggesteverleak ofclassifiedgovernmentinformation avasttroveof Americandiplo-maticdocumentsthat,among otherthings, wouldprovidedeepinsightintothe realitiesof Australias relationshipwith ourmostimportantally,theUnitedStates.

Asa journalist,I thoughtthiswasa storyworthgoingfor.

Curiouslyfew, ifany others,thoughtlikewise.

Consistentwiththe oldjournalistic maximthatNoahisa betterstory thanfloodcon-trolmost mediainterestwasfocusedon Assangehimself,admittedlyan elusiveandintenselyinteresting figure,rather thanwhathe mightbeabouttoreleasethroughtheWikiLeakswebsite.

Sixmonthsof emails,clandestinemeetings andconfidentialexchanges followedbeforearrangementsfor avisittoBritainwerelockedin.

WikiLeakstakessecurityvery seriously, andtheyare righttodoso.

Consequently,I flewoutfromAustralialast monthwith-outa specificdestinationinBritain only aninstruction onarrivalatHeathrowAirporttoproceedto acertainrailway station,takingprecautionstoseewhetherI wasfollowed.

There, usinga public

PHILIPDORLING

Legalfury overspeech PAGE 5INSIGHT

Gatheringsecretsin thenewage

EditorialShaun Carney, PeterGordon

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Please respond by quoting ref. no 2008787 via email to resume@sacsconsult.com.au (in Word format) ortelephone Clare McCartin on 03 8622 8517 or Kate Sawyer on 03 8622 8509 for a condential discussion.

67012

Professional Support Manager

> Contribute to the Community

> Support this Vitally Important Sector

> Package Circa $80K

The Community Child Care Association of Victoria is a community based, non prot organisation whichprovides leadership, advocacyand support to build the capacity of the childrensservices sector and promotepublic support for community owned, not for prot services. They are a government funded provider of professional development and support to the sector. Staff value the organisations exibility and its inclusiveand respectful workplace, where every staff member is encouraged and supported to grow.

This role will report directly to the Deputy Executive Director and will play a vital role in ensuring CCCsprofessional support to the childrens services sector builds its capacity to deliver high quality, integratedchild and family services which meet the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children. You will ensuregovernment contracts are soundly managed and needs analysis is translated into innovative and responsiveprofessional support plans. In addition, you will engage contractors to deliver professional support servicesin accordance with the key milestones in the government contract.

You are a visionary who is motivated and energised about executing change in professional practice. You areexperienced in translating expressed needs into real needs and astute in developing professional supportproducts. Your engaging style enables you to distil real needs with an enormously broad range of people.From a community services background, you have experience in developing professional developmentprograms that are innovative and produce real world outcomes.

Please respond by quoting ref. no 2008790 via email to resume@sacsconsult.com.au (in Word format) ortelephone Clare McCartin on 03 8622 8517 or Caroline Bell on 03 8622 8505 for a condential discussion.

67023

DIRECTOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND SCIENCE

Zoos Victoria is a leader in the evolving conservation sector and is committed tomaking a meaningful and tangible impact to saving wildlife and wild places.To further halt the loss of threatened species we seek a champion to drive Zoos Victoriascontribution to wildlife conservation.

Reporting to the CEO and overseeing a small specialist team you will be responsiblefor maximising the conservation potential of Zoos Victorias people and assets.In thisregard you will be focussed on developing measurable conservation initiatives andensuring Zoos Victoria remains a showcase for environmental sustainability. Equallyyou will engage and influence strategic partners and stakeholders to action,to deliver measurable conservation outcomes.

Suitably qualified in zoology,veterinary or other life sciences field,you will possess theability to lead, manage and inspire multidisciplinary teams. You are experienced indeveloping and implementing pragmatic and sound business cases and are skilled inengaging and building mutually beneficial networks and partnerships.

Lend your considerable vision for the future by contacting us today.

To be considered for this pivotal role please call John Sturdy or Brad Cunninghamon (03) 9690 1988 or visit www.wallage.com.au/executive-positions.aspx

World leading conservation organisationCritical lead roleDrive community awareness

CONSERVATION & SCIENCE

WE/011

THE WIKILEAKS FILES DAY FOUR4 News SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2010theage.com.au

How BHP sank Rio dealFrom PAGE 1

attributed the collapse of theChinalco-Rio Tinto deal tobackroom lobbying by BHP Bil-liton, whichledto theRuddgov-ernment delaying its decisionon whether to approve the bid.

During thistime,globalcom-modity prices improved to theextent that Rio Tinto no longerneeded Chinalcos cash injec-tionto staveoff debtincurred by fighting off an earlier takeoverattempt by BHP Billiton.

Having worked hard to tor-pedo the Rio-Chinalco deal,BHP believes that it has scored amajor victory by preventing astate-owned Chinese firm frominfluencing iron ore pricing negotiations from the producerside, the cable reported.

BHP has been lobbying extensively to block the deal,highlighting concerns about

Chinese investment and thepossibility that seats on the Rioboard would give the Chineserepresentatives importantinsights into the producer sideof the annual iron ore pricenegotiations.

Chinalco has made clearthat it considers the Rudd gov-ernments reluctance to approvethe deal (as) one of the majorreasons for its collapse.

In March this year, theChinese government released apost-mortem on the collapse of the Chinalco-Rio Tinto dealwhich cleared the Australiangovernment and the mining company of any role in killing the proposal.

But the Chinese report sin-gled out BHP Billiton for waging a behind-the-scenes campaignagainst Chinalco which helpedfuel an Australian backlash andinfluence the Rudd government.

The US government cablesmake it clear BHP knew theChinese were angered by its rolein frustrating Chinalcos bid,with BHP executive Mr Delaney telling American diplomats hiscompany needed damage con-trol with the Chinese Govern-ment to contain the fallout fromthe collapsed Rio Tinto deal.

In a separate cable, US offi-cials quoted West AustralianPremier Colin Barnett saying hisvisit to China which took place in the wake of Rio Tintosrebuff of Chinalco wastough with terms like treach-ery being used in initial meet-ings with Chinese officials.

US officials concluded thatthe BHP Billiton joint venturewith Rio Tinto will greatly con-cern global steel producers whoalready believed those two com-panies had too much power toset iron ore prices.

Amystery,a mansion,and a manofmettle

This nuclear-proof bunker in Stockholm is home to a data centre holding 8000 servers two of which belong to WikiLeaks. The servers two slim, black, plastic boxes surrounded by wires are kept in a locked white cabinet. PICTURE: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, AFP

From PAGE 1

telephone, I wasto calla number thathadbeenprovidedearlier through asecure channel.A voiceon theotherendofthelinegaveasinglewordreplytomy call thenameof arail-waystationoutside London.

Somehourslater,I arrived onawindsweptrailwayplatformsome-whereinrural England.Onlya cou-pleof other passengersgotoff atthisbleaklocationand theplatformwasquicklydeserted.I wonderedwhatthenextstep wouldbe.

Aftera moment,a figure emergedfromtheshadows,witha cappulleddownoverhis headandcoat collarturnedup.Therewas a quickgreet-ing,and thena longdrivethroughthecountryside to WikiLeakstemporary headquarters,made availablebyagenerous and hospitablebenefactor.

AtthedoorIwasgreetedby Assangehimself,unassuminginT-shirt,tracksuitpants andsockswithholesin them.Wegot straightdowntobusiness,whichwastheimminentrelease, inconjunctionwithsomeof theworldsleading newspapers, ofa torrent ofhighly sensitiveUS diplomatic secrets.

Withoutgoinginto toomany details,the settingwas utterlyincon-gruous. Theresidencewas amarvel-lousexample ofGeorgianelegance,arelicofthe pre-industrialage care-fullypreservedby itsownerbutdemonstratingthe challengesof maintainingbuildingsthat arecloseto300 yearsold.

Onthe walls ofthe drawingroom,effectivelythe WikiLeaksoperationsroom,paintingsof long-deaddefendersof theBritishEmpire, mostinscarletuniforms,lookeddownonanimpressivetangle ofcomputerlaptops,printers,wires, power cablesandotherequipment.

Itis saidthatthe security-consciousAssangechangesmobilephones asoften asmost peoplechangeshirts. Thisis anunderstate-ment.Tableswerecoveredwithmobilephonesand SIMcardsstrewnaroundlikeconfetti.Restingin onecorner was Assanges backpack,literallycarryingallhis worldly goods.

Inthe morning, theneighbouring countrysidereverberated tothesounds ofgunfireas theEnglishupperclassindulgedits passionforshootingdefencelessbirds.Occa-sionallylow-flyingjets ofthe Royal

AirForcewouldrattlethewindows,promptingjokesabouta possibleair-strike.

Fora tinyorganisationworking underimmensepressure,theatmo-spherein temporaryWikiLeaksHQwasremarkablycalm andrelaxed.

Ontheeveofits biggestdocu-mentsrelease,the mainworkareawasoftensilent,apartfrom thesoundoftypingon laptopsas docu-mentswereformattedand lastminutecommunicationsmadewiththenewspaperspartneredintherelease.

AlthoughWikiLeaksenjoysthesupportof alarge poolof volunteers,theinnercore isa small, highlycom-mittedgroup ofpeople,allworking onan expensesreimbursed-only basis,with a remarkablydiverse setofskillsrangingfrom computerpro-grammingand languagetranslation

tojournalismandmedialiaison.Its a trulymultinationalenter-

prisewithaccentsfromaroundtheglobeheardacrossthebreakfasttable. Notthateveryoneappearsatbreakfast.WikiLeaksruns ona 24hour/7daysa weekbasis,so agoodproportionof thekey personnelareessentiallynocturnal.

AsforAssangehimself,he isanimpressivefigure. Highlyintelligent,articulateandindeedcharismatic inaquietsortofway,he isdeeplycom-mittedto hiscause.And hecertainly isntin itfor themoney.

Forsomeoneworking incircum-stancesof immensepressure, bothprofessional andpersonal, hewasremarkablycalm,focused andmeas-ured.Contraryto reportsthat heis aneccentricegomaniac, running hissmallshiplikeCaptainBligh,he gaveeveryappearanceof beingwelltem-

peredandgoodhumoured,readytodiscussissuesand carefullyconsideradvice.

Hes certainlya strategicthinkerwitha fairamountof politicalandmedianousthathas turnedhissmallorganisation intoa globalphe-nomenon.

Havingenteredinto discussionsonthe basisof confidentiality, Imnotgoingto repeat hisobservations,butI foundhima highlyengaging,thoughtfulconversationalist,whetheracrossthe dinner tableorwhiletrekkingarounda muddyfieldinthe deepeninggloomof anEnglishwinter evening.

Hecertainlypays verycloseatten-tionto politicaldevelopments inAus-traliaandhasakeensenseoftheimportanceof encouraginggreateropennessand transparencyin hishome country.

Afrequentthemeistheneedtocutthroughthehypocrisyandcantthatfillsso muchof politicaldis-course byaffordingcitizenstheopportunitytosee andhear directly whattheirpoliticalleadersthinkandsayin private.

Inan articlepublishedatthebeginningof thisweek,he referredtosomeof hisformativepoliticalexper-iences.

I grewup ina Queenslandcoun-trytown,wherepeoplespoketheirminds bluntly,he wrote.They dis-trustedbig governmentas something thatcouldbe corruptedif notwatchedcarefully.Thedark daysof corruptionin theQueenslandgov-ernmentbeforethe FitzgeraldInquiryare testimonyto whathap-penswhenthe politiciansgagthemedia fromreportingthe truth.

Thesethingshave stayed with

methroughthe years. WikiLeakswascreatedaroundthesecore values.

Throughhis ownefforts, Assangehaswelland trulykickedthehornetsnest.Hes nowsittingin anEnglishprisoncellawaitingtheoutcomeof extradition proceedings thatcouldseehim takento Swedento beques-tionedinregardto sexual miscon-ductallegations,butwhichcouldalsoopenthedoorforhimtobe sentacrosstheAtlantictoface thewrathofthe USGovernment.

Itisreportedthathe isin goodspirits,and asa highlyself-containedpersonheprobablyhasthe innerresourcesto copewellwithhis cur-rent difficultcircumstances.

Butwhatever theoutcomeof theselegalproceedings, onething wasclearfrommyvisittotheWikiLeaksheadquartersand mydis-cussionswith Assange.

Heis a strategicthinkerwithacommitmenttohis causethattran-scends hisowninterests. Hehasgivenmuchthoughtto thequestionofhow WikiLeaksmightdefenditself fromthemost seriousand sustainedattacks,and indeedhow thegroupmightfunctionwithouthim,its foun-derand principalorganiser andspokesman.Consequently, althoughsmall, itis anorganisationwith con-siderableresilience.

TheglobalfrenzyaboutWikiLeaksislikelytocontinuefora longtimetocome. Therewillbe manytwistsandturnsin thestory.Butone wayoranother,it lookslikeWikiLeaksishereto stayandgovernmentsaroundtheworldwilljusthavetogetusedtothat.

Philip Dorling is a senior Fairfax investigativejournalist.

Company role in China staff prosecutionsFrom PAGE 1

Rio reported this finding to thePublic Security Bureau.

It is unclear whether eitherof the Rio Tinto employeesfound to be in possession of themoney was Australian citizenStern Hu, who was sentenced to10 years jail in March foraccepting bribes and stealing state secrets. Hus three Chinesecolleagues were also jailed.

The prosecution appeared toproduce substantial evidence tosustain the bribery chargesagainst the four. However,the proceedings that led toHus conviction for stealing state secrets remain a mystery as Australian officials werelocked out of that part of thetrial.

At the time Rio investigatorsd iscovered the money inSeptember last year, Chinese

author it ie s had recent ly changed the charges against theRio Tinto four from paying bribes to accepting bribes. Thiswas significantfor Rio Tintoas iteffectively meant the company was no longer suspected of sponsoring bribes through itsShanghai office.

In July 2009, Rio Tintos ironore chief executive, Sam Walsh,said the allegations against thefour were wholly withoutfoundation and the company was fully supportive of ourdetained employees.

After their convictions inMarch this year, Mr Walshsacked the men for deplorableconduct in accepting bribes.

The September 2009 USdiplomatic cable records MrBauert telling American officialsthat Rio Tintos investigationshad found no evidence that thefour men hadgathered informa-

tion illegally or were in posses-sion of Chinese commercialsecrets.

The cable noted Mr Bauertsaying he visited Hu on August31 last year and found him to bein good physical shape butdeteriorating emotionally.

Hu complained that hisarrest was politically motivated,inspired by the failed Rio-Chinalco deal, iron ore pricenegotiations and a recently announced BHP-Rio joint pro-duction deal, the cable attrib-uted Mr Bauert as saying.

Another confidential US gov-e rn me nt c ab le f ro m i tsconsulate-general in Hong Kong in July last year, Australiasambassador in Beijing, Geoff Raby, said the arrest of Hu andhis colleagues had taken him by surprise and was a completemess.

Ambassador Raby stressed

that he had seen no evidencethus far to suggest that Hu wasinvolved in any activities thatcould be considered other thannormal for commercial negoti-ations, the cable reported.

It noted Mr Raby describing how it was common for com-panies such as Rio Tinto toshare information with the Aus-tralian government, including material related to commercialnegotiations.

Raby asserted, however,that following a careful review ofthe record,it appearedthat allthe negotiation-related materi-als Hu had obtained were in thepublic record, the cable said.

He noted that the mostsensitive piece of informationRio had obtained was the factthat the China Iron& Steel Asso-ciation was aiming to negotiatea 47 per cent price reductionwith the major iron ore suppli-

ers, rather than the 33 per centreduction agreed to by Japaneseand Korean steel mills.

Raby indicated that as aresult of CISAs tendency tonegotiate in public, this inform-ation was widely reported in thepress and well known to anyoneinvolved in the negotiations.

The American diplomatsconcluded that Hus arrest hadspooked a few multinationalcorporations in China.

The malleable definition of what constitutes a state secrethas a potentially chilling effecton those doing business inChina, the cable said.

Meanwhile, a further US gov-ernment cable quoted theFrench ambassador to Chinasaying Beijings hands were notclean because of its attempts toobtain information on iron oreprice negotiations with Austra-lian companies.

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Details PAGE 19

THE WIKILEAKS FILES: DAY 6ISRAEL, IRAN & THE MIDDLE EAST

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A thief went into a London jewellers and asked to tryon a Rolex watch, then ran out with it leaving behindhis mobile phone. The phones screensaver was apicture of him holding a bunch of watches he hadstolen in previous heists. He was arrested soon after.

ARTS PAGES14, 15COMMENT & DEBATE PAGE 13EDITORIALS, LETTERS PAGE 12LOTTERIES PAGE 2MINDGAMES PAGE 18

TRIBUTES PAGE 17REAL ESTATE BUSINESSDAY 8-11TELEVISION PAGE 19THE ZONE PAGE 11WORLD PAGES8-10

MELBOURNE DAMS

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Defusing Tehran not as simple as cutting off a snakes headDANIEL FLITTONANALYSIS

THISstunninginsight intokey intelligencejudgments aboutIrans nuclear ambitionsillustrates justhowdifficult anddangerousa problemthe worldconfronts.

Imagineif thistypeof informationhadbeen madepublicbeforethe 2003invasionofIraq,showingpeopletheassumptions,guesswork andgapsin knowledgewhentrying toassessthe weaponsprogramofanothercountry. Might thewarhavebeen averted?

Thisis notto diminishAus-

tralias intelligenceassessmentsaboutIran,butratherto high-lightthechallengesanalystsfacewhentryingto discernfactsinone ofthe mostfiercely debatedissuesin globalaffairs.

A mistakenassumptioneither waycouldresultinanother devastating war.

Thekey pointis this:Austra-liafearsIranison thepathtodevelopinga nuclearbomb despitethe vehementdenialsof the regime.

But Australias analystsalsodismissother rhetoricfromIran,hardwordsinterpretedby someas a Messianicdrivetodominatethe region andfrom Israels perspective,towipethatcountryoff themap.

AustraliaseesIranas arationalactorcaughtin itsownsecuritydilemma; a massiveUSarmyto thewestin Iraq,another

tothe eastin Afghanistan, andimplacablehatred oftwonuclear-armedenemies,theUSandIsrael.

Thesolution, asTehranseesit,isto obtaina nucleardeterrenceto ensureits survival,orat leasthavethe materialandtechnologyreadytoassembleaweapon inshort time.

Thisis thequestionattheheartof theIran problem:canthecountrybe trusted withthebomb?Onlypoliticalleaderscananswerthat,not intelli-gence analysts.

But Australias bestmindsfromtheintelligenceworldbelieveemotivetermssuch asroguestateareof littlehelp.

Thereislittlewonderthe USsought Australiasviewson Iran.Australiahasan embassyinTehranwhilethe UShas beenofficiallylockedoutof thecountryfor decades.

Butitsimportanttoacknowledgethat muchhaschangedin the20monthsor sosincethesejudgmentsweredrawnup andasnewfactsarise, opinionsmay havevaried.

Theprotestsin Tehranafterdisputedpresidential electionslastyearmay havehardenedtheresolveof theregimeto buildthebomb.

Therewasalso thesurprisedisclosureof anunknownnuclearfacilityat Qom,south-westofthe capital,whichmay havechangedassessmentsoverhowquicklyIrancoulddevelopanuclearweapon.

Harshinternational sanc-tionsundertheUnitedNationsandboycottsby individualcountrieshavetaken a heavy

tollon Iranseconomy,perhapschanging the regimes calculusonthe nuclearquestion.

Butwenowhavea muchbetter understandingof theproblem.The leakedcablesdemonstratehow difficultit istoassess Irans intentions.

SaudiArabiasking mighturgetheUS tocut offthe headofthe snakein talksaboutIranbut isthis aninformedview,oris itdrivenbysectarianandethnic rivalry?

Daniel Flitton is diplomatic editor.SPORT

WARNIE, HURLEYTHE whispering campaign toget Shane Warne back intothe Australian Test team ascaptain has hit a hurdle apurported affair with marriedBritish actress Liz Hurley.

Nuclear war: our fear of Iran

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: His intransigence on Tehrans nuclear program deeply worried Kevin Rudd. PICTURE: REUTERS

Risk Australia, US maybe involved in conflictByPHILIP DORLING

In the long sweep of history Assange will be seen more

as hero than as villain.PAUL BARRATT,

former Defence secretary

COMMENT & DEBATE PAGE 13COMMENT & DEBATEPAGE 13

Continued PAGE4

AUSTRALIAN intelligence agen-cies fear that Israel may launchmilitary strikes against Iran andTehrans pursuit of nuclear cap-abilities could draw the US andAustralia into a potentialnuclear war in the Middle East.

Australias peak in telligenceagency has also privately under-cut the hardline stance towardsTehran of the US, Israeli andAustralian governments, saying its nuclear program is intendedto deter attack and it is amistaketo regardIran asa roguestate.

The warnings about thedangers of nuclear conflict inthe Middle East are given in asecret US embassy cab le

obtained by WikiLeaks andprovided exclusively to The Age .They reflect views obtained by US intelligence liaison officersin Canberra from Australianintelligence agencies.

The AICs [Australian intelli-gence communitys] leading concerns with respect to Iransnuclear ambitions centre onunderstanding the time frameof a possible weapons capabil-ity, and working with the UnitedStates to prevent Israel fromindependently launching unco-ordinated military strikesagainst Iran, the US embassy inCanberra reported to Washing-ton in March last year.

They are immediately con-cerned that Irans pursuit of nuclear capabilities would leadto a conventional war or evennuclear exchange in theMiddle East involving theUnited States that would draw Australia into a conflict.

Australian concerns about apossible Israeli military strike

against Iran are also recorded inanother US embassy cable, sentto Washington in December2008, reporting on discussionsbetween Peter Varghese, thenchief of Australias peak intelli-gence agency, the Office of National Assessments (ONA),and the then head of the USState Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR),assistant secretary of stateRandall Fort.

The embassys report of themeeting says that ONA seniorsand analysts were particularly interested in A/S Fort and INRsassessments on Israeli red lineson Irans nuclear program andthe likelihood of an Israelistrike against Iranian nuclearfacilities.

An earlier cable, sent in July 2008, records that former primeminister Kevin Rudd wasdeeply worried that IranianPresidentMahmoud Ahmadine-jads intransigence concern ing Tehransnuclear program meantthat the window for a diplo-matic solution was closing andthat Israel may feel forced touse non-diplomatic means.

Last week Mr Rudd called onIsrael to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as part of abroader effort to establish theMiddle East as a nuclear-weapon-free zone.

The US embassys March2009 report told Washingtonthat the Australian governmentwas more broadly concernedabout the potential for renewednuclearproliferation inthe Mid-dle East, driving south-eastAsian states to abandon the[nuclear non-proliferationtreaty] and pursue their ownnuclear capabilities, whichcould introduce a direct threatto the Australian homeland.

Australian intelligence viewsonIran weresolicitedby USoffi-cials in response to a requestfrom Washington to ascertainreactions to the possibility thatthe US might seek to discussregional security issues withTehran.

The US embassy cables con-firmthe presencein Canberraof

Rudd deridedAhmadinejad asloathsome manByPHILIP DORLING

Kevin Rudd and Israeliambassador Yuval Rotem.

Continued PAGE 4

ISRAELS ambassador to Austra-lia found Kevin Rudd to be very pro-Israel and senior Austra-lian diplomats warned the for-mer prime minister that hiscondemnation of Iranian Presi-dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejadrisked retaliation against Aus-tralias embassy in Tehran,according to leaked US diplo-matic cables.

C la ss if ie d U S c ab le sobtained by WikiLeaks andprovided exclusively to The Age reveal that Israeli ambassadorYuval Rotem was greatly pleasedwith Mr Rudds very support-ive attitude towards Israelsposition in the Middle Eastpeace process and his stridentattacks on the Iranian President.

The revelation of ambas-sador Rotems 2009 descriptionof Mr Rudd comes as the For-eign Minister wraps up a visit toCairo where he expressed con-cern that no real progress hadbeen made in the US-brokeredMiddle East peace process.

After a weekend meeting with Egyptian Foreign MinisterAhmed Abul Gheit, Mr Ruddsaid Israeli settlements onPalestinian land were destroy-ing the chances of peace. Hesaid he would visit Israel laterthis week and would reiteratehis position, but added Israelhad security fears that neededto be taken into account.

The leaked US embassy cables reveal that Israeli diplo-mats saw Mr Rudd as an impor-tant diplomatic ally, strongly supportive of Israels security interests.

A highly experienced Israelidiplomat, ambassador Rotemtold US officials in July 2008 thatduring his first meeting with MrRudd after Australias 2007 fed-eral election, the newly electedprime minister had describedIranian President Ahmadinejadas a loathsome individual onevery level and said that the

Iranian leaders anti-Semitismturns my stomach.

The US embassy noted thatwhile opposition leader, MrRudd had taken a very strong stance on Iran, including call-ing for Mr Ahmadinejad to beprosecuted by the InternationalCriminal Court for his calls forthe destruction of Israel.

The Israeli ambassadorbelieves PM Rudd is very con-cerned about the Iranian nuc-lear program and firm in hisdesire to do whatever possibleto signal Australias oppositionto Tehrans nuclear ambitions,the embassy reported. TheIsraelis believe Rudd is very firmin his overall support for Israel.

Asked by the US embassy about whether Mr Rudds viewson I ran had e li c it ed any response, Mr Rotem said theIranian government had reactedto the prime ministers state-ments by taking retaliatory measures against the Austra-lian embassy in Tehran.

These measures make itharder for the embassy to con-duct its day-to-day business,Mr Rotem observed.

The Israeli ambassadoradded that the Secretary of theDepartment of Foreign Affairsand Trade, Michael lEstrange,and Office of National Assess-ments director-general PeterVarghese had met several timesto convince the PM to think

8/7/2019 Best News Report in Print Quill 2010

6/8METAGE A004

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THE WIKILEAKS FILES DAY SIX

THE AGEMONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 20104

PM derided loathsome Ahmadinejad

Ambassador Rotem addedthat he would be playing to Rudds vanity.

From PAGE 1

through theconsequencesof hisrhetoric on Iran.

The Australian governmenthas never acknowledged pub-licly any Iranian response to MrRudds public criticism of Iranand its president.

Ambassador Rotem went ontotell theUS embassythat Israelsaw Australia as playing animportant role in the global PRbattleon IranbecausePMRuddis viewed favourably by theEuropean left, many of whomare sceptical about taking atough line towards Tehran.

Ro te m s ai d I sr ae liembassies in Europe havereported that Rudds policies arereceiving a surprising amountof attention, particularly because of his withdrawal of Australiantroops from Iraq, theembassy reported to Washing-ton. The Israelis hope thatRudds position on Iran may help persuade sceptical Euro-peans, as well as help reinforcethe need for a tough line on Iranby other countries.

The ambassador added thatIsraeli officials would normally

have been concerned at theprospect of an Australian Laborgovernment: However, this wasnot the case because Rudd hadlong gone out of his way tostress his strong commitment toIsrael and appreciation for itssecurity concerns. Rotem saidthat he has had excellent accessto Rudd and noted that the PMhas taken a strong interest ineven minor issues involving Israel.

Commenting that DFATofficials are very frank inexpressing their annoyance withthe PMs micromanaging of foreign policy issues, Rotemlaughingly said that while Iunderstand their point of view,how can I complain about hav-ing that kind of attention fromthe PM.

The Israeli ambassadorsenthusiasm for the Labor gov-ernment extended to deputy prime minister Julia Gillard,with the US embassy reporting in January 2009 that Mr Rotemwas very satisfied with theAustralian response to Israelsmilitary offensive in Gaza.

Rotem said he had beenimpressed with Acting PM Julia

Gillard, who has taken the leadin co-ordinating the [Australiangovernment] public and privateresponse to the Gaza fighting.Rotem said that Gillard and[National Security AdviserDuncan] Lewis have been very understanding of Israels mili-tary action, while stressing theneed to minimise civilian casu-alties and address humanitarianconcerns.

Mr Rotem added that Ms Gil-

lards statements surprisedmany Israeli embassy contactsas being far more supportivethan they had expected.

Israeli officials wereimpressed with Gillards per-formanceduringa January2 callwith [Israeli] PM Ehud Olmert,he said, commenting that thiswas a relief because it had beenvery difficult to persuadeOlmert to make the call.

Ambassador Rotem told hisUS counterparts that several

senior Labor Party contacts hadtoldhimprivatelythatRuddhadbeen a bit jealous of the atten-tion garnered by Gillard andthat this led him to speak to theGaza issue later in January 2009.Ambassador Rotem added thathe would be playing to Ruddsvanity to encourage him to pay an early visit to Israel and con-tinue to speak out in support of a hard line against Irans nuclearambitions.

In other leaked US cables,Australian diplomats are repor-ted as telling their US counter-parts that the Australiangovernment was completely aligned with the United Statesin regard to Iran.

In a meeting with US diplo-mats in October 2009, FirstAssistantSecretaryPatrickSuck-ling and then assistant secret-ary, now Australian ambassadorto Israel, Andrea Faulkner, saidAustralia fully supports USefforts to engage with Iran butexpressed deep official scepti-cism about the prospects fordiplomatic progress. Mr Suck-ling said: Australia wants themost robust, intrusive anddebilitating sanctions possible.

Nuclear war: Australias Iran fear

ONA urged a view of Tehran as a sophisticateddiplomatic player ratherthan a rogue state.

From PAGE 1

representatives of all USnational intelligence agencies:the CIA, the National Security Agency,the NationalReconnais-sance Office, the National Geo-spatial Agency, the DefenceIntelligence Agency and the FBI.

US intelligence liaisonofficers engaged all their Austra-lian counterpart agencies on theIran question including ONA,the office of the National Secur-ity Adviser, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, theAustralian Secret IntelligenceService, the Defence Intelli-gence Organ isa tion , theDefence Signals Directorate, theDefence Imagery and Geo-spatial Organisation, theDefence Science and Techno-logy Organisation, and the Aus-tralian Security IntelligenceOrganisation.

In its July 2009 report toWashington, the embassy notedthat the Australian intelligencecommunity had increased itscollection and analytic effortson Iran over the past decade,demonstrating Australias stra-tegic commitment to engage

substantively as a significant USpartner on Iran.

US diplomats expressedhigh confidence that the Aus-tralian government would haveno objections to US efforts toengage Iran, noting that whileAustralian troops remainstationed in Afghanistan theAus t ra li ans wil l look toincreased US engagement withIran to improve upon creating arealistic framework for an accel-

erated reduction and eventualcessation of Iranian support tothe Taliban, al-Qaeda andrelated groups, and Hezbollah.Simultaneously, Australia willlook for increased US-Iranianengagement to lead to a morestable governance environmentfor Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq,and the Levant.

The US embassys cable onthe December 2008 intelligence

exchange in Iran reported ONA director-general Vargheses view that possible conflict betweenIsrael and Iran clearly repre-sented the greatest challenge to[Middle East] stability.

ONA analys ts sa id theIranian government appeareddetermined to acquire nuclearweapons, though this was prob-ably driven by the desire todeter Israel and the US ratherthan an intention to strikeagainst other Middle East states.

ONA viewed Tehrans nuc-lea r p rogram with in theparadigm of the l aws of deterrence, noting that Iransability to produce a weaponmay be enough to meet itssecurity objectives, the USembassy reported.

Nevertheless, Australianintelligence viewed Tehranspursuit of full self-sufficiency inthe nuclear fuel cycle, long-standing covert weapons pro-gram, and continued work ondeliverysystemsas strongindic-ators that Tehrans preferred ends tate included a nuclea rarsenal.

ONA analysts told their UScounterparts they were not

alone in this assessment, assert-ingthat while ChinaandRussiaremain opposed to it, they view Irans acquisition of nuclearweapons as inevitable.

However, ONA urged a bal-anced view of Tehran as a soph-isticated diplomatic playerrather than a rogue state liableto behave impulsively or irra-tionally.

Mr Varghese said ONA wastelling the Australian govern-ment: Its a mistake to think of Iran as a rogue state.

The embassy cable reported:ONA analysts assessed thatTehran knows about its lack of certain capabilities, but playsbeyond its hand very skilfully . . . ONA judged that Irans activ-ities in Iraq both overt andcovert represen ted anextreme manifestation of Ira-nianstrategic calculus,designedto outflank the US in theregion.

However the Australian intel-ligence analysts asserted that. . . the most effective means by which Tehran could ensure itsnational security would be astrategic relationship with theUS via some grand bargain.

Frontline Diggers reject Rudd comments and slam WikiLeaksByDAN OAKESMUSAZAI

Worldof smallvictoriesPAGE 10A man is searched at an Australian and Afghan National Army checkpoint near the patrol base in Musazai in Oruzgan province. PICTURE: ANGELA WYLIE Seemore pictures fromAfghanistanat theage.com.au

SOLDIERSon thefrontline inAfghanistan havedisputedcomments byformerprimeministerKevinRuddaboutthe progressof thewar inAfghanistanandcriticisedWikiLeaksfounderJulianAssangefor makingpublic secretdocumentsrelatingto thewar.

Shortlybeforeheadingoutfor aneight-hourpatrolintohostileterritoryin thesouthernprovinceof Oruzgan,the Diggers saidthecoalitioneffortin Afghanistanwasreapingtangible benefits

ontheground,andthatitwasdifficulttogainthefullpicturefrombackin Australia.Its thedifferencein perspective.With somany

nations rethinkingtheircommitmenthere,it canseemlikea morassofwickedproblems, asopposed

toour perceptionfromtheground, whereyouhavetangibleoutcomesas a result ofthe work were doing,said Captain JimWallace(left).

Cablespublished by WikiLeaksshowKevinRudd,asprimeminister,confirmedtoUScongressmenthatthe Australiansecurity establishmentwas

pessimisticaboutthewar,which,he confessed,scared thehellout ofhim.

CaptainRichardTrembath,commanderof PatrolBase Musazai,saidthe DefenceForce,theAustralianFederalPoliceand othergovernmentagenciesweredoing theirbestto improvethe over-allsecuritysituation.

Itll bedifficult,for awhileyet, butwe havetotemper ourexpectationsas Westernnationsin aneasternnation.But ifweresaferandAfghanpeoplearesaferwhen weleave,thatsa measureof success, CaptainTrembath said.

Thesoldierswerealsodisgustedby WikiLeaksreleasingsecretcablesconcerningthe warsinAfghanistanandIraq, saying therewasno doubttheyputthe livesofAustralian soldiersat risk.

Thething I feelstrongestaboutis thesafetyof mysoldiers, andif throughtheseleaks evenone of them. . . endsup deadbecause aninternetgeneralbackin Australiais releasingthisinformation itdisgusts me, said CaptainTrembath.

US and NZalliancekept secretWELLINGTON

THE United States and New Zealand ended a near 25-yearbreak in intelligence collabora-tion last year but kept the newssecret, according to a leakedcable published on Sunday.

The cab le f rom the USembassy in Wellington wasincluded in a package of secretdocuments released by websiteWikiLeaks and printed in theSunday Star-Times .

Washington imposed strictrestrictions on the supply of intelligence to Wellington in themid-1980s in response to New Zealands nuclear-free policy.

But according to a cable sentfrom the US embassy to US Sec-retary of State Hillary Clinton inJanuary this year, collaborationwas fully restored in August2009.

Mrs Clinton was also warnedthe news should not beacknowledged in public.

According to the cables, USandNewZealandofficialsdoub-ted that there was public sup-port for the closer ties betweenthe two countries and preferredto keep them secret.

Of political personalities,Prime Minister John Key isdescribed as having a strongly personal pro-American out-look while former leader HelenClark was seen as a very con-trolling manager.

One leaked cable shows thatformer Australian foreign minis-ter Alexander Downer thoughtthat New Zealand was a nationof bleeding hearts. AFP

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Backflipdefusesequalpay rowEXCLUSIVEByKIRSTYNEEDHAMSOCIAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

THE federal government hasbowed to union and community sector anger and signed back onto support equal pay for women.

A letter by Workplace Minis-ter Chris Evans has changed agovernment submission to theequal pay test case being heardby Fair Work Australia.

A dispute erupted in the finalsitting week of Parliament asunions and the Australian Coun-cil of Social Services accused thegovernment of abandoning adealto supportthe casecovering 153,000 , mos tly female,community-sector workers.

The commonwealth provideshalf the sectors funding, and itsoriginal submission had saidany pay rise awarded by thetribunal would lead to cuts toother government services,because it needed to bring thebudget back to surplus.

Prime Minister Julia Gillardtook personal offence at theensuing backlash and orderedthe problem be fixed.

The letter by Mr Evans states:The submission does not assertthat Fair Work Australia shouldnot award or discount equalremuneration because of thepotential impact on the com-monwealth.

The letter to the AustralianServices Union, signed on Mon-day, can be tabled as evidence. Itchanges five issues that hadupset the sector, including: Recognising salary sacrificedeals, commonly used by chari-ties that run homelessness, dis-ability, family and crisis centres,do little to help low-paid women. Rejecting an argument pushedby the Australian Industry Groupthat sector wages should be liftedthrough workplace bargaining,not a gender case.

The government submissiondoes not argue that collectivebargaining and productivity improvements arethe solutiontolow wages. We recognise thatcollective bargaining is notalways a means to rectifying entrenched pay equity differen-tials, the letter says.

Community sector workers inMelbourne, Sydney, AdelaideandTasmania will march today insupport of the case.

Unions say the letter was cru-cial to stop the governments ori-ginal submission being used toundermine the case.

ASU Victorian branch assist-ant secretary Lisa Darmanin saidthe letter met the spirit of aheads-of-agreement Ms Gillardsigned last year.

We think this letter providesthe follow-through and the sup-port that we need, she said.

Community workers willmarch on State Parliament today to seek assurances from PremierTedBaillieuthat thestate govern-ment would also meet the fullcost of the equal pay case

Propertychiefswarn of units glutByMARIKADOBBIN

Continued PAGE 2

THOUSANDS of off-the-planapartment buyers could facelosses as a glut forces many Mel-bourne projects into limbo.

Two major property playershave broken industry ranks towarn buyers about an oversup-ply of poorly located apartmentsin the development pipelineaimed at property investors.

Rob Pradolin, general man-ager of developer Australand,which has $400 million in pro-jects under way in Victoria, pre-dicted that 30 to 40 per cent of apartment projects currently advertised for Melbourne wouldnot go ahead.

All those people who havepaid deposits are locked in andcant pull their money out untilthe sunset clause in the contractexpires in three, four and some-times five years time, he said.

Mr Pradolin predicted bankswould control the market by confining lending for construc-tion work to less risky develop-ments in prime locations.

His comments come lessthan a fortnight after Melbourneproperty stalwart Max Beck,who founded Becton Property Group, warned in The Austra-lian Financial Review of apotential slump in apartmentvalues if the banks funded allthe mega-projects proposed.

Proposals for 33,451 new apartments in 293 Melbournebuildings are now being advert-ised to buyers. The figure hasleapt from 18,585 apartments inJune 2008, according to researchbypropertyagency OliverHume.

The surge is a boon for themore than 500 real estate agentsspruiking apartment develop-ments to local, interstate andinternational property investors.However, just 13 per cent of pro-jects launched in the past twoyears have started construction,a repor t by Oliver Humeshowed.

Competition between pro-jects for buyers, combined withstricter laws for foreign property investors, a slow-down inmigrat ion l evel s and thestrength of the Australian dollarhave resulted in disappointing off-the-plan sales for many of the developments.

Freehills property partnerDavid Sinn said major bankswere worried about a potentialoversupply in Melbourne andlooking to reduce their expos-ures by taking a hard line onlending to start construction.

Banks were shying away from projects where developershad little equity to put in orwhere off-the-plan sales hadbeen largely to overseas buyers.

The sheer volume of pro-jects trying to get up at themoment is amazing and there isonly a certain pool of money available, he said. The pool isinsufficient to service all thoseprojects.

MrSinn saidmostbankswerenow refusing to lend to indi-vidual buyers for inner-city apartments. Buyers who hadpaid deposits could do nothing but wait their contracts out.

Terrorgroupsbroken

A soldier conducts a search while on patrol this week in Oruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, where Australian troops are working with soldiers of the Afghan National Army. PICTURE: ANGELA WYLIE

Upbeat report to USsays al-Qaeda has failed

As events unfold in theyears ahead, these cableswill provide crucial back-ground that people willreturn to and judge whatpolitical leaders have to say.

DANIEL FLITTONPAGE 17

ByPHILIPDORLING

Continued PAGE6

A SECRET Australian intelli-gence assessment has declaredthe al-Qaeda terrorist network afailure and claims its regionaloffshoot, Jemaah Islamiyah, hasbeen broken in Indonesia.

The head of Australias topintelligence agency, the Officeof National Assessments, toldAmerican diplomats in October2008 that al-Qaeda ultimately has failed to achieve the stra-tegic leadership role it soughtwithin the Islamic world.

The assessment undercuts akey argument of the Gillard gov-ernment to justify Australiascontinued commitment to the

war in Afghanistan that al-Qaeda could return to use thecountry as a terrorist training ground.

Australian intelligence officersinstead blamed Taliban successin Afghanistan on the failings of Afghan President Hamid Karzaisgovernment and on the murky involvement of Pakistans intelli-gence and security services.

Pressed by the US diplomatsfor an overall assessment of Islamist terrorist threats, thenOffice of National Assessmentsdirector-general Peter Varghesegave a strongly up-beat view. Hetold the visiting head of the USState Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research,

Randall Fort, that terrorism wasa good news story that is get-ting better, with the violentIslamist threat receding.

The US embassy in Canberrareported Mr Varghese com-mented that in personal meet-ings and intelligence exchangeswith ONA and other Australianservices, Pakistani [defencechief] General [Ashfaq] Kayanicontinually comes across as

ambivalent on the issues of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, reiterating thatIndia remains the core missionand priority of the Pakistandefence and intelligence estab-lishment.

ONA assesses that Pakistansmilitary and security elite view this as an American war, which,combined with a very hardsense of anti-Americanism,

combines into a very dangerouscocktail, Mr Varghese wasreported to have told his Amer-ican colleagues.

Mr Varghese said develop-ments were especially positivein Australias region, where thegrowth of Islamic extremism-based movements is con-strained, thanks in part to ongo-ing successes in combinedcounter-terrorism efforts, butmore because of societal factorsin south-east Asia that reject theMiddle Eastern jihadist model.

But the secret US embassy cable, leaked to WikiLeaks andprovided exclusively to The Age ,warned that the southern Phil-ippines was emerging as a new terrorist haven.

Prime Minister Julia Gillardtold Parliament on October 19,during the debate on Australiasmilitary deployment, that it wasa vital to make sure thatAfghan istan never again

becomes a safe haven for al-Qaeda and that Osama binLadens group remained a resi-lient and persistent network.

Ms Gillard also warned of pastlinksbetweenal-Qaedaandextremists in Indonesia.

But the US record of thehigh-level intelligence exchangestates: Varghese and his ana-lysts assessed that IndonesiaIslam was returning to its maincourse following a detour driven by personal linkages tothe global j ihad that wereformed in Afghanistan in the1980s.

ONA analysts assess thetide has turned on Jemaah Isla-miyah (JI) in Indonesia, noting that its leadership has been dev-astated with most seniorskilled, captured, or on the run-and that it has lost its local sup-port networks and funding, theUS embassy reported to

Philippines a basket case and Timor a burdenByPHILIPDORLING

Continued PAGE6

AUSTRALIAS top diplomatsconsider our neighbourhooddeeply troubled. They describeChinas leadership as nervous,paranoid and uncertain butrunning rings around Japan.Thailand is unstable, the Philip-pines a basket case and EastTimor a burden.

The candid judgments of some of Australias most seniorand experienced diplomats arecontained in the United Statesrecord of the secret Australia-

US political-military talks heldbetween senior officials of bothcountries in Canberra in Octo-ber 2008.

Foreign Affairs Departmentdeputy secretary David Richiewarned that Australia faced atroubled neighbourhood . . .including an increase in illegalimmigration from Indonesia . . .continuing political instability in Thailand; the basket case of the Philippines; the continuing burden of providing security and development assistance toEast Timor; problems of bad

governance in many of thePacific Island states.

The US record of the secretdiscussions, chaired by Mr Ric-hie and US assistant secretary of state Mark Kimmitt, has beenprovided exclusively to The Age by WikiLeaks.

During the exchange, thedepartments first assistant sec-retary for north Asia, GrahamFletcher, gave a broad politicaloverview of China.

The elite, led by Hu Jintao,likely would retain control until2012, when Hu would turn over

the reins to one of his hand-picked successors, Mr Fletcherforecast. While China mightlook impressive externally, itsinternal politics were character-ised by nervousness, paranoiaand uncertainty. Nonetheless,there were no major challengesto the ruling elite in the nearterm.

A senior US defence officialfor east Asia, David Sedney, saidthat the US analysis matchedAustralias view that there wasno threat to Chinas rulers.

[Sedney] noted that the

Chinese l eadership wasabsorbed with domestic stabil-ity, and, while China hadachieved success in achieving economic and political stability,there were cracks in the facade.

The departments thensenior official for south-eastAsia, Peter Woolcott, describedthe political situation in many countries in Australias neigh-bourhood as messy, and citedsignificant problems in thePhilippines, Thailand, Malaysia,Vietnam and Burma.

The situation in Indonesia

Australias most importantregional partner was as goodas it gets, Mr Woolcott said.[President] Yudhoyono . . .whom Australia wanted to seere-elected, had provided firstclass co-operation on counter-terrorism.

Mr Woolcott describedChinas diplomatic efforts insouth-east Asia as impressive,adding that while most coun-tries wanted a US presence as ahedge, they were comfortablewith Chinas approach.

E-POLLShouldthe governmentback equalpayeven ifit endangersthe budget surplus?Vote theage.com.au

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THE WIKILEAKS FILES DAY 86 THEAGEWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2010

US grand jury pursuing AssangeMother critical of PMs responseByPAOLA TOTAROLONDON

Julian Assange arrives in the back of a police vehicle at a London magistrates court for his second bail hearing. PICTURE: AFP

Assanges mother Christine.

WIKILEAKS founder JulianAssange arrived in Westminstermagistrates court in a prisonvanfive hoursbeforehewas due

to appear yesterday to plea forbail.Mr Assange was greeted by

50-metre queues of media andsupporters who waited forhours outside the court in freez-ing temperatures.

His mother Christine arrivedfrom Australia to support herson at his court appearance andvisited him in his jail cell atWandsworth.

I told him how people allover the world in