Media Release 14.04.2019

From: Chris Leitch, Leader

Subject: Social Credit condemns Ecuador’s capitulation over Julian Assange

Social Credit is calling on all New Zealand’s political parties to join it in condemning Ecuador’s capitulation on asylum for Julian Assange and it’s handing him over to British authorities.

That capitulation appears to have been facilitated by a $4.3 Billion (USD) loan to Ecuador from the US dominated International Monetary Fund on the day Assange's asylum was revoked.

Social Credit unreservedly supports freedom of the press and protection of whistle-blowers, which should be at the forefront of every free country. We support journalists such as Assange who strive to hold the powerful to account.

Too many decisions are made behind closed doors with the public being given the least information possible. A classic example is the way the Trans Pacific Partnership deal was negotiated in secret, with basic details, even when requested through the Official Information Act, being withheld.

An informed public is paramount to a functional democracy and civil society's health.

We would strengthen the ability of the public to gain access to official information, make changes to lessen the power of the government executive in favour of more power for Parliament as a whole, and implement the Single Transferable Vote system for parliamentary elections to provide better voter representation.

Should the UK bow to United States pressure and extradite Assange, it will endanger journalistic freedom and whistle-blower protection on a global scale.

Journalists all over the world will need to take note: toe the line or you are next.

If Ecuador was influenced by a fiscal incentive in exchange for giving up the principles of press freedom, it is another example of the real cost of the present monetary system.

Social Credit has long said that if sovereign nations took control of their own monetary issuance via their own central bank, such loans would not be necessary.

We are already accustomed to standing up to powerful international interests, such as the banking cartel and we would apply the same stance to any threat to journalistic freedoms.

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