Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s welcoming of Julian Assange back to Australia hours after the WikiLeaks founder pleaded guilty to charges under the US Espionage Act “sent the wrong signals” says Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham. He added the PM’s actions were “irresponsible and inappropriate”.
Birmingham said Assange had used his time in the Ecuadorian embassy and in the UK to avoid facing both the espionage charges brought against him by the US and the sexual assault charges in Sweden. He added that the WikiLeaks founder was entitled to appeal, and had access to lawyers, "a fair judicial system and transparent courts".
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