Earlier tonight, but you probably knew this, Julian Assange was reunited with his family here in Australia. His arrival home ends a long running legal process. A plea agreement between Mr Assange and the United 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. As Prime Minister, I have been very clear, that regardless of what you think of his activities, Mr Assange’s case had dragged on for far too long. I have clearly and consistently, at every opportunity and at every level, advocated for Mr Assange’s case to be concluded. I am very pleased that this saga is over. And 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. There are a range of views about the actions of Mr Assange. The Australian Government feels strongly that the proper protection of all national security information is vital for safety. But as I have said, both as Labor Leader and as Prime Minister, there was nothing to be gained by the further incarceration of Mr Assange and we wanted him brought home. Tonight that has happened. We have got this done. I also acknowledge the efforts of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, my Ministerial colleagues, Penny Wong, the Attorney-General, and others, other Australian officials who have worked tirelessly on this case, particularly over the last couple of years. In particular, I want to thank Ambassador Rudd and High Commissioner Stephen Smith, who travelled home to Australia with Mr Assange. We’ll have meetings about AUKUS and other arrangements over coming days as well. 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. Happy to take a couple of questions.
JOURNALIST: PM there are many views about Julian Assange, as you said. Some do not regard him as a hero. Do you think he was a journalist who was wrongfully pursued over what he did?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I think that there will continue to be different views about Julian Assange and his activity. My role as Prime Minister has been to firmly say that whatever the views that people have, 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, his landing here in our national capital, Canberra. He expressed his thanks to what he described as the diplomatic A-Team, when I spoke about the role that Kevin and Stephen have been able to play.
JOURNALIST: PM, you talked about your view that this had gone on for too long. Do you think previous Prime Ministers, previous Governments, have been negligent to allow it to drag on so long, instead of advocating as strongly as you’ve done?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look what’s important is, I’m responsible for my job. My job is to advocate for Australian citizens. Cheng Lei’s home. Sean Turnell is home. One of the things that my Government does is, at times as well, we don’t shout. We’re not in a contest of machismo. What we do is we get things done. And my Government advocated strategically, patiently, in a calibrated way, and we achieved this outcome.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, a couple of quick questions. Can you confirm that you expect to meet Mr Assange in the next day or so? And secondly, could you give us a sense –
PRIME MINISTER: Sorry?
JOURNALIST: Will you be meeting him in the next day or so? And also, at what point did you actually realise that this was going to happen? You’ve been working on it for a couple of years. Was it a conversation with Joe Biden? Was it a message sent from the State Department or Foreign Affairs? How did that play out?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it played out over a long period of time. I’ve said that I have raised it at 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, that this was always the case, to be very clear, that because of the separation between the 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, 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. And of course, the nature of his incarceration in Belmarsh has meant that that then communication had to then be through, Stephen Smith, our High Commissioner, he has visited him on a number of occasions. The details of the plea deal were worked through over a period of time. But what we have been focused on, very clearly, and for some of the issues that have raised with me, it was the case that this was the only way that I could see a resolution being achieved. And the objective here was to conclude these matters. They have been concluded. They’ve been concluded in a way that has achieved the outcome that was sought, which is Julian Assange is now home here in Australia.
JOURNALIST: Just following up on James’ question, do you plan to meet with Mr Assange in the coming days?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, I got parliament tomorrow, so I’ll be here tomorrow. I’m not going to assist. I’m aware of Mr Assange’s movements in coming days, but I’m not about to, that’s a matter for his personal privacy. Obviously, he’s been through a considerable ordeal. It’s up to him when he makes a statement. 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 that would occur. And while we’re in this press conference, while some people are watching the plane and whether Mr Assange has exited the plane, other people will be focused on kickoff.
JOURNALIST: Have you spoken to the US President since there was a breakthrough, and how do you think this result will shape the US-Australia relationship going forward now? Our closest ally.
PRIME MINISTER: We have a very positive relationship with the United States. I regard President Biden as a friend. I regard the relationship as being absolutely central, one of the three pillars of our foreign policy here, along with our relationship in the region and our support for multilateral forums, including the United Nations. I engage, one of the things that I do, and one of the reasons why you get outcomes, is I don’t come into press conferences and talk about the personal details of discussions I have.
JOURNALIST: I was going to ask whether there was a breakthrough moment or a particular turning point in this negotiation, a moment when you realised that it would be possible?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there were probably a range, a number of steps along the way, to be frank. There were moments when this required a range of decisions to be made, by the Department of Justice in the United States, which of course, is not subject to political influence. They’re independent. If you look at the whole range of people who’ve been to the United States, I’m surprised that some of it was missed by the people in this room, some of the visits, but not up to me to indicate that. Go back and have a look at some diaries and who’s travelled to the United States in recent months. We wanted to be focused on an outcome. And these things don’t come together till they all come together. You know, 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 contact with his legal team over a period. He had a legal team in the UK led by his longest legal adviser, Jen Robinson, who was a conduit for direct discussions with Mr Assange. But he also had a very good legal team in the United States. Kevin Rudd worked very hard, as did Stephen Smith, as did the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as did the Attorney-General, as did others as well, to achieve.
JOURNALIST: The point’s been made that your predecessors did not advocate for this outcome and that you have chosen to do so. And you’ve talked a bit about why you did that, but you’ve personally been very engaged since before you were even Opposition Leader with this. So, can you tell us why you have chosen to stake so much on this, given the US relationship is so important and it must have put things under pressure at times, why go so hard for this outcome for someone who, as you have made the point, divides the population in terms of what he did?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe in standing up for Australian citizens, and I make that very clear. 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. And as Prime Minister of Australia, you have an opportunity to make a difference. I’ve said repeatedly across a range of areas, I’m not here to occupy the space. I’m not here necessarily to ensure that people will always be supportive by going through the details of what we are doing, as we are doing them. And 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 outcomes based politician. I believe in making a difference. We can make a difference. The United States are our friends. The United States was, of course, in a position though, where because of the separation of powers, I believe in that as well and I’ve always understood that due to their system, so it wasn’t as simple as me sitting down with President Biden or any other US elected representative and achieving this outcome. Diplomacy is something that must be patient, something that must be built on trust, something that works through stages. We have done that. And Mr Assange and I this evening, as I said, 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. Thanks very much.
