Opposition blasts government for picking up the phone to Assange

A partisan stoush has erupted over Julian Assange’s return to Australia, with the opposition accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of giving the WikiLeaks founder and convicted felon an overly warm welcome to the country. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Albanese had failed a test of judgment by speaking by telephone to Assange in the WikiLeaks founder’s first phone call since returning to Australia on Wednesday night. “I don’t think it’s at all appropriate that Anthony Albanese picked up the phone to Julian Assange,” Birmingham told reporters.

“Yesterday, Julian Assange pleaded guilty in a United States court to charges under the US Espionage Act, and by nightfall he was welcomed home by the Australian prime minister. “That just sends all of the wrong signals and is irresponsible and inappropriate of Anthony Albanese to welcome home Julian Assange on the same day he’s pleaded guilty to US charges related to espionage.” Birmingham said that Assange should not be classified as a political prisoner and should not be treated as a hero for publishing sensitive US national security secrets.



Julian Assange arrived in Canberra by private jet on Wednesday night. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald “Julian Assange is not Cheng Lei, he’s not Sean Turnell, he’s not Kylie Moore-Gilbert,” he said, referring to other Australians who have recently returned from imprisonment overseas. “He was not held in a Chinese jail or an Iranian ja.