And touch down! The plane carrying Julian Assange has landed in Australia, bringing a 14-year-old legal ordeal to an end.
We’ve got more to come – but now, we can say he is home.
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The PM posted this photo of himself on the phone to Julian Assange earlier this evening:
We’re at the East Hotel in Canberra’s Kingston – just a short six-minute drive from Parliament House. It’s also where the Assange family is holding a media conference at 9.15pm.
We’re told Julian himself won’t be attending but it’s expected his wife, Stella, and family will be there.
Supporters are out the front with “free Assange” banners and signs about fixing whistleblower acts.
We’ve spotted a few federal politicians around so far but it’s hard to tell who is here for a regular Wednesday night beverage (this is a favourite haunt for many politicians and staffer) and who’s here in support.
For some Assange is a hero, for others a threat. Here we explain how Assange became a divisive character and what the details are of his plea deal:
Albanese says Assange was grateful for the help of the government:
I’ve never met Mr Assange. I had a very warm discussion with him this evening, though he was very generous in his praise of the Australian government’s efforts. The Australian government stands up for Australian citizens. That’s what we do.
The PM has said he supported Assange because he believes in supporting Australian citizens.
I made it clear from the beginning I had the same position as opposition leader on all of these issues, as I’ve had as prime minister. As prime minister of Australia, you have an opportunity to make a difference.
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Some people have been very critical that we weren’t doing enough. What we were doing was exactly the right thing to achieve an outcome. I’m an an outcomes-based politician. I believe in making a difference. We can make a difference.
Albanese said this has been building for a long time:
You know, there are there are steps. It required a plea deal requires a two-sided agreement between the Department of Justice and Julian Assange.
It requires, in this case, Mr Assange, to receive advice from his legal team. And we have been in, in contact with his legal team over a period.
The PM said he called Assange as soon as he touched down:
I was pleased to speak with him … immediately upon the wheels touching the ground. I was quite pleased to be the first person here who he spoke with, which was … mutually worked out that would occur.
The PM has been asked about how the release played out:
It played out over a long period of time. I’ve said that I have raised it at, uh, every opportunity at the highest level. I know that I’ve received a message from the US ambassador here that they are also pleased that this has been resolved.
The first time I raised it was with President Biden at the Nato summit in Madrid. I raised it also with other … senior members of the US administration. But this was always the case to be very clear that because of the separation between the, uh, political representatives and the judiciary, this was always going to be something that required, discussion patient with the Department of Justice and certainly over that period of time, there has been an issue as well.
I’ve exchanged very directly with Mr Assange’s lawyers, as have our diplomatic representatives and Mr Assange’s lawyers have been very determined to achieve an outcome.
We are onto questions, and the PM has been asked if he thinks Assange was a journalist wrongly imprisoned.
There was no purpose to be served by this ongoing incarceration. And can I say that when I spoke with Mr Assange tonight, he described it as a surreal and happy moment. He’s landing here in our national capital, Canberra.
He expressed his thanks to what he described as the diplomatic A-Team.
The PM said he understands there are a range of views on Assange. He thanks the ambassador, Kevin Rudd, and the high commissioner, Stephen Smith – and makes it clear they’ll meet about other things in the coming days.
They worked with his legal team to facilitate a very smooth journey. This is the culmination of careful, patient and determined advocacy work that I am very proud of.
It is yet another example of why mature, calibrated, and consistent engagement with our partners is the best way to get results in Australia’s national interest.
Albanese says he has spoken to Assange earlier tonight, welcoming him home:
Earlier tonight, I was pleased to speak with Mr Assange to welcome him home. And had the opportunity to ask about his health and to have my first discussion with him.
His safe return to Australia, we know, means so much to his family. His wife Stella, his children, who he is looking forward to playing with like any dad and his parents, Christine and John.
The PM:
Earlier tonight – but you probably knew this – Julian Assange was reunited with his family here in Australia.
He’s arrival home, ends a long-running legal process, a plea agreement between Mr Assange and the United States states Department of Justice was accepted by a US court in Saipan earlier today.
I do want to express my appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom for their efforts in making this possible.
And the PM is talking now
And we’ve got vision here from Sarah who is on the ground:
Assange has entered the RAAF base and through the window, you can see he is just holding his wife.
As Julian Assange descends the private jet, a flurry of cheers and applause among his supporters braving the cold breaks out.
He puts his fist up to his supporters and waves as he crosses the tarmac.
Cheers of “we love you Julian” and “welcome home” are heard as he embraces his wife.
And he is out of the plane! Assange has raised his fist before descending down the stairs. His feet have hit Australian soil.
This will be a big moment for so many people – his family members and supporters, a range of MPs from across the political spectrum and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance which has advocated for his freedom.