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Australian citizen, Mr Julian Assange, has tonight been reunited with his family in Australia.

His return to Australia is possible due to the conclusion of a plea arrangement between Mr Assange and the United States Department of Justice, which was accepted by a United States court in Saipan on Wednesday 26 June.

This ends a long-running judicial process.

The Australian Government has been clear in its view that Mr Assange’s case had dragged on for too long.

We have, on every occasion and at every level, consistently advocated for Mr Assange’s case to be brought to a conclusion and for Mr Assange to come home.

Australian officials, in particular Ambassador Kevin Rudd and High Commissioner Stephen Smith, have worked closely with US and UK officials in support of these efforts and to enable his smooth return to Australia.

Tonight, we express our appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom, for their efforts to find a pathway that met the interests of all parties.

As Mr Assange reunites with his loved ones in Australia, we ask that media respect his family’s privacy.

After securing amendments to the government’s Financial Market Infrastructure Bill to require large Australian companies to report against both 1.5 degree and catastrophic warming scenarios the Greens will support the legislation.

The changes to the Bill will also mean the Parliament retains oversight of ASX ownership and not just leave this decision solely with the Treasurer of the day.

The 1.5 degree scenario will test a company’s transition risk, where companies are too slow to respond to the transition, with quickly changing markets and government policy leaving a company’s assets or business model stranded.

The 2.5 degrees or more of warming scenario will test physical risk, which is the damage inflicted by natural disasters turbocharged by coal, oil and gas heating up our planet.

A company or super fund will have to examine how their business or their assets will be affected in a warmed world. For instance if critical public infrastructure they use to get their goods or services to market is destroyed or rendered inoperable.

The existing oversight of the Parliament to disallow a Treasurer’s approval where a company takes an ownership stake greater than 20% of the Australian Stock Exchange Ltd will remain in place.

Senator Nick McKim

“The planet is currently on track for a terrifying 2.5 to 3 degrees of warming by the turn of the century, so requiring companies to test how their businesses will cope in this transformed world will lead to better decision-making and planning.

Better climate risk reporting means investors are better informed and empowered to support climate-smart businesses and pull their money out of companies which have no future in a zero emissions economy. 

As the Liberal and Labor parties commit to expanding coal and gas and making the climate crisis worse, these amendments will focus the minds of company boards on how to deal with the consequences of these decisions by the government and their coal and gas donors.

Getting these stress-tests into legislation means a future climate-denying government can’t unwind these requirements in a radioactive pursuit of cutting red tape.”

In breaking news this morning, Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department of Justice which means he can walk from his prison cell and return home to Australia to be with his family.

The price Julian Assange has paid for telling the truth about the United States military, war and power has been extreme, and the world is thankful for the courage he has shown for so long. 

Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said: 

“I along with millions of Australians are looking forward to welcoming Julian back home where he belongs with his family and his friends. 

“To those around Australia and the the world who have said #FreeAssange, thank you. This would not have happened without sustained pressure from millions of people who support truth telling. 

“To Julian who told the truth and did it knowing he would face a global attack, we are immensely grateful.

“Let’s be clear, Julian Assange should never have been charged with espionage in the first place or had to make this deal. 

“Julian Assange has spent years in jail for the crime of showing the world the horrors of the US war in Iraq and the complicity of governments like Australia and that is why he has been punished.

“We should take a moment to reflect on what this one person has faced, years in solitary confinement, years lost with his family and years of holding to his convictions in the face of impossible pressure.

“Whistleblowers like Julian continue to pay an unfair price for telling the world the unethical and criminal actions of Governments. 

“On this day we again commit to fixing whistleblower laws in Australia and supporting truth telling across the globe,” Senator Shoebridge said. 

Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said:

“This has been a hard fought battle and although justice has not been served today is a day to celebrate that Assange is finally coming home. 

“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. 

“We should never forget why Julian was targeted by the US for over a decade: for telling an awful, inconvenient truth about war crimes. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should warn Labor members of Parliament that juvenile attacks on the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy could undermine confidence in Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarine program.

Shadow Attorney-General Senator Michaelia Cash said a social media post by Labor front bencher Andrew Leigh, depicting cartoon character Blinky Bill with three eyes, was a disgraceful example of misinformation likely to undermine confidence in AUKUS.

The post said: “Is this what Peter Dutton wants Blinky to look like in 50 years?”

“This sort of juvenile undergraduate attempt at humour should not be laughed off by the Prime Minister,’’ Senator Cash said.

“Labor has fully supported the AUKUS nuclear submarine program and Mr Albanese should come out and confirm to navy personnel that nuclear submarines will be safe for them to operate,’’ she said.

“As Western Australia will host the submarine program, including storage of waste, Mr Albanese should assure all Western Australians nuclear technology is safe,’’ she said.

“Mr Albanese should pull his front bench and all Labor MPs into line and tell them not to make such attacks,’’ Senator Cash said.

“Andrew Leigh is an assistant minister and should know better. He should immediately apologise and remove the juvenile post from his social media,’’ she said.

“Nuclear is one of the safest forms of energy generation. It’s roughly on par with solar power, and even safer than wind and hydro power,’’ Senator Cash said.

“The technology is safe enough for Australian Defence Force personnel who will shortly be operating nuclear propelled submarines under the AUKUS agreement,’’ she said.

“Australians are smart enough to work out that this type of attack is pure misinformation being pedalled by a Labor Government which has no legitimate objections to nuclear energy,’’ Senator Cash said.

The Coalition welcomes the Canadian Government’s decision to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity and again urges the Albanese Government to take similar action.

The Canadian Government’s action stands in stark contrast to the weakness of the Albanese Government which has failed to take any action in listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation in Australia.

At Senate Estimates earlier this month, the Government confirmed it had undertaken no work to list the IRGC since it was recommended in February 2023 by the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade References Committee.

The Albanese Government is out of excuses. As the Canadian Government pointed out in listing the terrorist organisation today, the IRGC conducts terrorist activity, both unilaterally and in association with other terror groups including Hezbollah and Hamas. The Canadian Government made clear that a terror listing is an important additional step over and above sanctions upon IRGC operatives and entities. This sends an important message that Canada will use all the tools at its disposal to combat the terror activity of the IRGC.

There is significant evidence that the IRGC is engaged in terrorist activity, and Australia’s laws should reflect this reality. Failing to do so can only further diminish Australia’s standing and demonstrates the Albanese Government’s ongoing failure to adequately support international action such as the multi-nation operation again Iran-backed Houthi terrorism in the Red Sea.

The Coalition has repeatedly made clear that we offer our bipartisan support for any actions required to enable the listing of the IRGC.

Australia must stand with Canada and the US in listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and we call on the Albanese Labor Government to take immediate action so that Australia sends a clear message that we do not tolerate acts of terrorism, no matter who commits or supports them.