Julian Assange freed as it happened: WikiLeaks founder returns to Australia for first time in 14 years

That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s return to Australia – any updates on this story will be covered in our National blog, which you can access here.

Thanks for joining us. Here’s a quick recap of what happened today:

• Coalition members, including Simon Birmingham and James Paterson, have criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for calling WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and treating him like a hero.
• Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said she was disappointed with Birmingham for saying Australia’s relationship with the United States had been damaged in the wake of Assange’s release.
• Lawyer and wife of Assange, Stella Assange, says the moment she got a call from Albanese to speak with the WikiLeaks founder was “really moving and emotional”.
• Stella Assange told a press conference in Canberra that Julian’s priority is to rest and recover.
• A single bitcoin donation worth almost $740,000 has been made to Julian Assange’s cause, covering the cost of his chartered jet.

Thanks for joining us, stay tuned with all live news coverage in the National blog.

A single bitcoin donation worth almost $740,000 has been made to Julian Assange’s cause, covering nearly the entirety of the cost of his chartered jet.

Supporters of Assange have multiple forums to donate, including directly through cryptocurrency.

A transaction recorded on mempool.space – a software website used to visualise data about the Bitcoin ecosystem – shows one user donated ‎8.07173122 BTC to Assange’s link, which converts to $739,789.

Assange’s wife, lawyer Stella Assange, told Reuters on Wednesday that this week’s chartered flights cost $782,334.

Assange’s team has also raised $793,456 via Crowdfunder and $20,384 via GoFundMe, meaning his campaign has surpassed the cost of the jet hire.

The Free Assange website states that Assange is in “dire need of recovery” and the leftover funds will be used to ensure his “recovery and well-being and safety”.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has thanked Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and Australian high commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith for their “instrumental” work securing Julian Assange’s release.

In a post to her X and Instagram accounts, Wong praised both men for their “determined diplomatic efforts” to bring the WikiLeaks founder home.

“Both have been instrumental in engaging with Mr Assange’s legal team and the US system to conclude this matter,” she wrote.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has backed the prime minister calling Julian Assange, saying it is no surprise the opposition is seeking to “divide and be negative about this”.

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Gallagher said for Anthony Albanese to call the WikiLeaks founder was entirely appropriate.

“The government’s pleased to see him home, and it’s been through the efforts of the … prime minister, foreign minister, the attorney-general and of course [high commissioner to the UK] Stephen Smith and [ambassador to the US] Kevin Rudd,” she said.

“It was a big event to see him land in Australia, and I think generally outside of the opposition, this has been welcomed as an appropriate move for something that had gone on for so long. I don’t think it’s a surprise that the opposition seek to either try to write themselves in or seek to divide and be negative about this.”

Gallagher acknowledged everyone has different views about Assange, but it was agreed the case had gone on for too long.