Julian Assange , Barnaby Joyce and Australian Journalism lessons in hypocrisy and courage

This morning I awoke to the sounds of an ABC(Australian Broadcasting Commission) journalist pontificating on the Barnaby Joyce “scandal.” Apparently, according to the breathless narrative, the Australian people hate a hypocrite and therefore, Joyce was fair game.

The feeding frenzy around Joyce and his new found lover/staffer is set to continue for days until the fearless members of the press get their man and tear him down.

I'm no fan of Barnaby Joyce, and I think he deserves whatever comes his way. But for the Australian press to indulge in the public political execution of a garden variety National Party politician for “hypocrisy” is just a little rich.

The Australian press pack discovered integrity in a very small dose.

This is the same group who have been bleating about Government intrusions upon press freedom while studiously ignoring the plight of Julian Assange. They talk about Joyce being hypocritical and yet won't (or more likely can't) acknowledge their own hypocrisy and lack of courage.

Assange's group Wikileaks is one of a handful of news outlets that dares to publish unexpurgated material sourced from government files. It does so without fear nor favour and always with the public interest at heart. Contrast that to the weak-kneed kowtowing of the ABC who were handed a treasure trove of classified government cabinet papers and after publishing some interesting but not necessarily earth-shattering material handed the rest back. Courage, it seems, is in short supply at the ABC.

Courage in the face of extreme intimidation has never been lacking for Assange or Wikileaks. Despite campaigns of smear and innuendo, Wikileaks continues to publish material that the public is entitled to see. Having, at one time, been viewed favourably by the left, Assange dared to publish the Clinton and Podesta emails. The publication of these has seen the establishment left to unleash its version of hell upon Wikileaks. Allegations of being a Trump/Russia stooge as well as a re-hashing of sex abuse allegations have been a constant cry of an incensed establishment left. The corporate elites and showbiz icons who led the #I'm With Her push have led an incensed and largely incoherent charge against Assange. The media have sat quietly to one side and allowed the defamation and smear to continue unabated. In many cases, they have recycled the talking points of left propaganda arms like David Brock's Media Matters and printed them as fact.

If you only read Australian Mainstream Media you would believe the following.
That Russia “hacked” the election – this is printed as fact without ever giving any solid evidence.
That Julian Assange helped the Russians tear down Hillary Clinton. Despite evidence from William Binney that clearly demonstrates that the Clinton emails were downloaded to a thumb-drive rather than hacked. No mention is ever made of the curious “robbery gone wrong” that ended in the murder of Seth Rich. Nor, is there any mention of Assange offering a reward for information leading to the conviction of Rich's killers. Uranium one is gratuitously mentioned occasionally as a conspiracy theory.
That Assange is avoiding a rape case in Sweeden -when the case has been dropped and evidence has emerged that the allegations were false.
That the Australian government is acting properly while ignoring its citizen's plight.

There is no analysis of any of these points. The Australian media simply parrots what the American media says. No one dares to question the narrative, nor hold their American colleagues to account.
A case in point was this incredibly stupid tweet from Newsweek journalist, Michael Edison Hayden who it seems doesn't have the ability or the wit to work out the difference between a troll account. and a real one. It took me all of five minutes months ago, but apparently Mr Hayden was too busy, or just didn't care enough to check.

The real Julian Assange was quick to eviscerate Hayden

Curiously, no mainstream Australian Media outlet or journalist has thought this exchange worthy of comment. This speaks volumes about the pack mentality and lack of courage within Australian media.

Truth, it seems is only really newsworthy when there is an easy kill to be had. Courage remains in short supply.