Australia’s quiet campaign to bring Julian Assange home

In reality, he is still an extremely polarising figure in Australia.

Alexander Downer – a former Australian foreign minister and its High Commissioner to the UK between 2014 and 2018 – has long argued Australia should not intervene in the saga and said Assange should not expect a hero’s welcome home.

“What he did was a criminal offence, and it was a terrible thing to do, morally as well, and endangering people’s lives in that way,” he told BBC’s Radio 4 programme.

“Just because he’s Australian doesn’t mean he’s a good bloke,” he added.

On the other hand, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said Assange was persecuted for “telling an awful, inconvenient truth about war crimes”.

“The persecution of Julian Assange has shone a light on a broken legal system, one in which an innocent man must plead guilty to be free,” he said.

Others sit in the grey middle.

Barnaby Joyce has long been one of the MPs leading calls for Assange’s release – arguing his treatment has been horrific and that the extraterritorial aspect of the case is worrying.

But he always clarifies in the next breath that he doesn’t believe what Assange did was right.

“I’m a former serving member of the Defence Force… I’m not here to give a warrant to his character,” he told the BBC News Channel.

Some have spoken in support of his freedom, but voiced discomfort at his characterisation as a hero and journalist. Others pointed to concern over claims of election interference – even the characterisation by US officials that WikiLeaks is “a nonstate hostile intelligence service”.

Even Mr Albanese trod a delicate line: “Regardless of your views about his activities, and they will be varied, Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long,” he said in parliament on Wednesday.

With his feet now firmly on Australian soil, it appears Assange will finally be able to get on with his life – starting with his 53rd birthday next week, which he’ll celebrate alongside his family for the first time in 14 years.