Two whistleblowers appeared in a Canberra court on Thursday charged separately with leaking classified government information that alleges Australia bugged East Timor's Cabinet and potential war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan.
Free speech demonstrators rallied outside the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court during preliminary hearings for lawyer Bernard Collaery and former army officer David McBride.
Both are at the center of a new campaign in Australia to wind back national security laws that infringe on press freedom and to provide legal protections for whistleblowers who expose government wrongdoing.
Free speech demonstrators rally outside the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019. Two whistleblowers appeared in the court charged separately with leaking classified government information that alleges Australia bugged of East Timor’s Cabinet and potential war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan. (AP PhotoRod McGuirk)
Collaery is charged with conspiring with a former spy to reveal classified information about an allegation that Australia illegally bugged East Timor's government during negotiations over the sharing of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue in 2004.
He made his first appearance in the court on Thursday a week before Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison flies to East Timor to ratify a new treaty to share Timor Sea energy riches. East Timor leaders have called for Australia to drop the case.
Collaery intends to plead not guilty and will face a three-day hearing starting Dec. 11 that will determine what if any of the evidence can be heard in open court.
Former Australian Army officer David McBride speaks to the media outside the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019. McBride is one of two whistleblowers who appeared in the court charged separately with leaking classified government information that alleges Australia bugged of East Timor’s Cabinet and potential war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan. (AP PhotoRod McGuirk)
McBride appeared on charges relating to the leaking of classified documents about Australian Special Air Service involvement in Afghanistan to journalists.
The leak was part of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. report broadcast in 2017 that alleged Australian troops killed unarmed men and children in Afghanistan. The leak was also the target of a police raid on ABC's Sydney headquarters in June that was widely condemned as media intimidation.
Court Registrar Annie Glover said McBride can expect to face a 10-day trial in March or April next year.
McBride said outside court he will admit to leaking documents and hopes that his trial will be open to the media.
"The government should justify why after five-to-10 years these documents could possibly hold anything which you as the public don't deserve to know," McBride told reporters.
"I would say it's the opposite. You do deserve to know what went on in Afghanistan 10 years ago, there's nothing secret about it," he added.
Collaery declined to comment outside court on Thursday.
His co-accused, a former spy known as Witness K, intends to plead guilty and will appear in Canberra's Magistrates Court on Thursday next week for a sentencing hearing. He faces a potential maximum prison sentence of two years.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
