Gregory Joseph BarnsSC (born 9 April 1962) is an Australianbarrister,author,political commentator, miningcompany director and former political candidate based inHobart, Tasmania.[1][2] He is an advisor toJulian Assange andWikiLeaks and was the national campaign director for theWikiLeaks Party.[3][4]
Barns was educated atDe La Salle College, Malvern andMonash University, where he graduated with aBachelor of Arts in 1984 and aBachelor of Laws in 1985.
Barns was admitted to practice and called to the Victorian Bar in 1986, and to the Tasmanian Bar in 2003. He is also admitted to practice in New South Wales and Western Australia. He worked full-time as a barrister from 1986 to 1989, and from 2003. He tooksilk in Tasmania in May 2020.[1]
Barns represented Ezzit Raad in the 2008 trial of twelve men aroundAbdul Nacer Benbrika charged with terrorism-related offenses.[5]SBS Television produced a one-hour documentary,The Trial, about the case, focussing on Barns' involvement.[6] In 2013, he started working pro bono on theJulian Assange legal case for the Assange Campaign.[7]
Barns was an adviser toNew South Wales premierNick Greiner (1989–90);Victorian opposition leaderAlan Brown (1990–91); andTasmanian premierRay Groom (1993–96). He then served as Chief of Staff to Federal Finance MinisterJohn Fahey from 1996 to 1999.
Barns was the political campaign director of theAustralian Republican Movement's 1999referendum campaign and he succeededMalcolm Turnbull as ARM chair in 2000.
In 2002, Barns was disendorsed as theLiberal candidate for the Tasmanian seat ofDenison, due to his criticism of theHoward government's asylum-seeker policies. Blaming John Howard, Barns said, "Dissent within the party is just not tolerated."[8]
Criticising the Liberal Party, Barns commented on, "The weakness of the liberal wing of the party and in particular supposedly liberal ministers likeRobert Hill, for example, or (former attorney-general)Daryl Williams, a range of them who thought of themselves as being liberals who have been prepared to go along for the ride".[8]
He later joined theAustralian Democrats for around two years.[citation needed]
In 2013, Barns was theWikileaks Party campaign adviser for theAustralian federal election when claims were made about party lack of transparency and accountability byLeslie Cannold,[9] resulting in her resignation from the party along with a number of National Council members and volunteers.[10]
Barns is the author ofWhat's Wrong with the Liberal Party? (2003) andSelling the Australian Government: Politics and Propaganda from Whitlam to Howard (2005). More frequent contributions appear inOn Line Opinion,Crikey andthe HobartMercury on issues pertaining to sport, law and politics (including theAustralian federal election in 2007).
In 2019, Barns told Australians to put aside their opinions ofJulian Assange and consider his actions. He told the press: “At the end of the day we need to remember what is it he exposed, for which he’s been prosecuted. He revealed war crimes and he’s being punished for it.”[11] In 2020, he called for Australians to support Assange during his extradition hearing in the UK. Barns said Assange was "facing an effective death penalty" for revealing "the war crimes of the US".[12]
Barns has made calls for Australia to adopt aBill of Rights for the protection of its citizens and journalists.[13] In a 2020 opinion piece published in theMercury, he warned of the potential human rights violations that could follow public acceptance of the Australian government'sCOVIDSafe app. The app is intended to facilitate the contact-tracing of people who become infected with the disease, but he warns that data could be used for other purposes by other parties including police, immigration and intelligence agencies in Australia and the USA.
In a 2012 article called "Australia's pointless and deadly drugs crackdown" he said "We are killing, injuring and hurting young Australians who use illicit drugs because of our irrational obsession with prohibition. It is time to stop and produce policies that actually work."[14]
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