WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to Australia as a free man following his US plea deal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke on his release at a press conference.
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00:00Earlier tonight, but you probably knew this, Julian Assange was reunited with his family
00:09here in Australia.
00:12His arrival home ends a long-running legal process.
00:17A plea agreement between Mr Assange and the United States Department of Justice was accepted
00:23by a US court in Saipan earlier today.
00:28I do want to express my appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom for their
00:34efforts in making this possible.
00:37As Prime Minister, I have been very clear that regardless of what you think of his activities,
00:43Mr Assange's case had dragged on for far too long.
00:49I have clearly and consistently, at every opportunity and at every level, advocated
00:56for Mr Assange's case to be concluded.
01:00I am very pleased that this saga is over.
01:04And earlier tonight, I was pleased to speak with Mr Assange, to welcome him home and had
01:12the opportunity to ask about his health and to have my first discussion with him.
01:23His safe return to Australia, we know, means so much to his family, his wife Stella, his
01:30children who he is looking forward to playing with, like any dad, and his parents Christine
01:39and John.
01:40There are a range of views about the actions of Mr Assange.
01:45The Australian Government feels strongly that the proper protection of all national security
01:50information is vital for safety.
01:54As I have said, both as Labor Leader and as Prime Minister, there was nothing to be gained
02:00by the further incarceration of Mr Assange and we wanted him brought home.
02:06Tonight, that has happened.
02:09We have got this done.
02:12I also acknowledge the efforts of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, my ministerial
02:18colleagues Penny Wong, the Attorney-General and others.
02:25Other Australian officials who have worked tirelessly on this case, particularly over
02:30the last couple of years.
02:33In particular, I want to thank Ambassador Rudd and High Commissioner Stephen Smith who
02:39travelled home to Australia with Mr Assange.
02:43We will have meetings about AUKUS and other arrangements over the coming days as well.
02:47They worked with his legal team to facilitate a very smooth journey.
02:54This is the culmination of careful, patient and determined advocacy, work that I am very
03:02proud of.
03:03It is yet another example of why mature, calibrated and consistent engagement with our partners
03:10is the best way to get results in Australia's national interest.
03:15Happy to take a couple of questions.
03:16There are many views about Julian Assange, as you said, some do not regard him as a hero.
03:17Do you think he was a journalist who was wrongfully pursued over what he did?
03:27I think that there will continue to be different views about Julian Assange and his activity.
03:36My role as Prime Minister has been to firmly say that whatever the views that people have,
03:46there was no purpose to be served by this ongoing incarceration.
03:52Can I say that when I spoke with Mr Assange tonight, he described it as a surreal and
03:59happy moment, his landing here in our national capital, Canberra.
04:06He expressed his thanks to what he described as the diplomatic A-team when I spoke about
04:14the role that Kevin and Stephen have been able to play.
04:19PM, you talked about your view that this had gone on for too long.
04:27Do you think previous Prime Ministers, previous governments have been negligent to allow it
04:31to drag on so long instead of advocating Australia as you have done?
04:36I'm responsible for my job.
04:40My job is to advocate for Australian citizens.
04:45Chang Lai is home.
04:47Sean Turnell is home.
04:49One of the things that my government does is, at times as well, we don't shout.
04:56We're not in a contest of machismo.
05:01What we do is we get things done.
05:04My government advocated strategically, patiently, in a calibrated way, and we achieved this outcome.
05:14Prime Minister, a couple of quick questions.
05:17Can you confirm that you expect to meet Mr Assange in the next day or so?
05:21And secondly, could you give us a sense of...
05:24Sorry, you expect?
05:26You didn't conclude.
05:27Will you be meeting him in the next day or so?
05:29And also, what point did you actually realise that this was going to happen?
05:34You'd been working on it for a couple of years.
05:36Was it a conversation with Joe Biden?
05:37Was a message sent from State Department of Foreign Affairs?
05:40How did that play out?
05:43Well, it played out over a long period of time.
05:48I've said that I have raised it at every opportunity at the highest level.
05:58I know that I've received a message from the US ambassador here that they are also
06:04pleased that this has been resolved.
06:08The first time I raised it was with President Biden at the NATO summit in Madrid.
06:17I raised it also with other senior members of the US administration.
06:24This was always the case, to be very clear, that because of the separation between the
06:33political representatives and the judiciary, this was always going to be something that
06:39required discussion, patient with the Department of Justice.
06:46And certainly over that period of time, there has been an issue as well.
06:51I've exchanged very directly with Mr. Assange's lawyers, as have our diplomatic representatives.
07:01And Mr. Assange's lawyers have been very determined to achieve an outcome.
07:06And of course, the nature of his incarceration in Belmarsh has meant that that then communication
07:14had to then be got through.
07:18Stephen Smith, our High Commissioner, has visited him on a number of occasions.
07:23The details of the plea deal were worked through over a period of time.
07:31But what we have been focused on very clearly, and for some of the issues that have raised
07:38with me, it was the case that this was the only way that I could see a resolution being
07:48achieved.
07:50And the objective here was to conclude these matters.
07:56They have been concluded.
07:58They've been concluded in a way that has achieved the outcome that was sought, which is Julian
08:06Assange is now home here in Australia.
08:09Just following up on James's question, do you plan to meet with Mr. Assange in coming days?
08:16I've got Parliament tomorrow.
08:19So I'll be here tomorrow.
08:23I'm not going to assist.
08:25I'm aware of Mr. Assange's movements in coming days.
08:30But I'm not about to...
08:33That's a matter for his personal privacy, obviously.
08:37He's been through a considerable ordeal.
08:41It's up to him when he makes a statement.
08:47I was pleased to speak with him immediately upon the wheels touching the ground.
08:56I was quite pleased to be the first person here who he spoke with, which was mutually
09:03worked out that that would occur.
09:05And while we're in this press conference, while some people are watching the plane and
09:14whether Mr. Assange has exited the plane, other people will be focused on kickoff.
09:20Have you spoken to the US President since there was a breakthrough?
09:25How do you think this result will shape the US-Australia relationship going forward?
09:30They are our closest ally.
09:31We have a very positive relationship with the United States.
09:36I regard President Biden as a friend.
09:40I regard the relationship as being absolutely central, one of the three pillars of our foreign
09:46policy here, along with our relationship in the region and our support for multilateral
09:54forums, including the United Nations.
09:58I engage one of the things that I do, one of the reasons why you get outcomes, is that
10:06I come into press conferences and talk about the personal details of discussions I have.
10:12I was going to ask whether there was a breakthrough moment or a particular
10:15turning point in this negotiation at the moment when you realised that it would be
10:19possible?
10:20I think there were probably a range, a number of steps along the way, to be frank.
10:26Can you tell us anything about them?
10:27There were moments when this required a range of decisions to be made by the Department
10:36of Justice in the United States, which of course is not subject to political influence
10:44there.
10:46Independent, if you look at the whole range of people who've been to the United States,
10:55I'm surprised that some of it was missed by the people in this room, some of the visits,
11:00but not up to me to indicate that.
11:04Go back and have a look at some diaries and who's travelled to the United States in recent
11:08months.
11:09We wanted to be focused on an outcome and these things don't come together until they
11:19all come together.
11:21You know, there are steps it required.
11:25A plea deal requires a two-sided agreement between the Department of Justice and Julian
11:31Assange.
11:32It requires, in this case, Mr Assange to receive advice from his legal team and we have been
11:41in contact with his legal team over a period.
11:47He had a legal team in the UK, led by his longest legal advisor, Jen Robinson, who was
11:58the conduit for direct discussions with Mr Assange, but he also had a very good legal
12:02team in the United States.
12:05Kevin Rudd worked very hard, as did Stephen Smith, as did the Department of Foreign Affairs
12:12and Trade, as did the Attorney-General, as did others as well, to achieve parity.
12:17Prime Minister, the point's been made that your predecessors did not advocate for this
12:21outcome and that you have chosen to do so and you've talked a bit about why you did
12:25that, but you've personally been very engaged since before you were even opposition leader
12:30with this, so can you tell us why you have chosen to stake so much on this, given the
12:35US relationship is so important and it must have put things under pressure at times?
12:39Why go so hard for this outcome, for someone who, as you have made the point, divides the
12:45population in terms of what it did?
12:47I believe in standing up for Australian citizens and I make that very clear.
12:53I made it clear from the beginning I had the same position as opposition leader on all
12:59of these issues as I've had as Prime Minister, and as Prime Minister of Australia, you have
13:07an opportunity to make a difference.
13:10I've said repeatedly across a range of areas, I'm not here to occupy the space.
13:15I'm not here necessarily to ensure that people will always be supportive by going
13:27through the details of what we are doing, as we are doing them, and some people have
13:34been very critical that we weren't doing enough.
13:38What we were doing was exactly the right thing to achieve an outcome.
13:42I'm an outcomes-based politician.
13:46I believe in making a difference.
13:48We can make a difference.
13:50The United States are our friends.
13:53The United States was, of course, in a position, though, where because of the separation of
14:02powers, I believe in that as well and have always understood that due to their system.
14:09So it wasn't as simple as me sitting down with President Biden or any other US elected
14:19representative and achieving this outcome.
14:23Diplomacy is something that must be patient, something that must be built on trust, something
14:32that works through stages.
14:34We have done that, and Mr Assange and I this evening, as I said, I've never met Mr Assange.
14:45I had a very warm discussion with him this evening, though.
14:51He was very generous in his praise of the Australian Government's efforts.
14:59The Australian Government stands up for Australian citizens.
15:03That's what we do.
15:04Thanks very much.