On the third anniversary of Mr Assange's entry into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Senator Scott Ludlam joins with many millions of WikiLeaks supporters around the world to acknowledge the continuing value of the organisation, even as we condemn the hostility with which its staff and volunteers have been treated by Western governments including our own.

Three years ago today, Julian Assange entered the embassy seeking political asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam today said the Greens will join the arts community push for a Senate Inquiry into Brandis’ arts takeover.

“Australia’s arts should not be the personal fiefdom of George Brandis,” Senator Ludlam said. 

“The Greens agree we need a Senate Inquiry to examine why the government is attacking the arts and undermining the Australia Council.”

The Australian Greens said today that the government's metadata regime would make it easier for companies to embark on speculative invoicing attacks against Australians who are suspected of downloading movies in breach of copyright.

"The Federal Court decision today, that will see the names and residential addresses of around 4700 alleged copyright infringers handed to a US company, is likely to be the first of many," Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens communication spokesperson said today.

"Copyright laws exist for a reason and they should not be infringed upon.

The Australian Greens have called on the government to fast-track the implementation of a scheme to mandate notifications of data breaches, as the international community reacts to news that the personal information of 31 world leaders was compromised by the immigration department.

"This is an embarrassing international incident which highlights that no system is infallible," Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens communication spokesperson said today.

Lee's opinion piece on the the passage of the metadata laws was published today.

Mandatory data retention will not only bring about indiscriminate surveillance of all Australians — it will also enable the Liberal/ National government to supercharge its anti-union attacks.

All this is achieved with the backing of Labor.