Australian Politics

A cross-party delegation of jet-lagged and obstinate Australian parliamentarians arrived in Washington DC last September to advocate for Julian Assange's freedom. Those in the room reflect on how the "robust", and at times "aggressive", meeting went.

Sitting on one side of the long mahogany table were three US departmental officials and a media adviser.

On the other side, as diverse a collection of Australian politicians as you could imagine – Senator Whish-Wilson, his fellow Greens senator David Shoebridge, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, independent MP Monique Ryan, Labor MP Tony Zappia, and Liberal senator Alex Antic.

Also present was Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton and Rohan Wenn, an adviser to independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who could not make the trip.

"They all picked up on a different piece of the argument — watching them all come together and work together was something else. I was very impressed."

The delegation during the meeting raised several issues including freedom of speech, shifting public sentiment in Australia, the US-Australia alliance, and jurisdictional rights.

The group acknowledged the important roles played by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Australia's US Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Assange's family, his legal team, and the Australian people.

"I want to stress it was a small part of a years-long global solidarity campaign, without which Julian's release could not have been achieved," Senator Shoebridge said.