"For the 1st time in many years, Australia is almost united as a people as we welcome home Julian. Of course, we'd prefer he was let free without charge, however, his sacrifice this last 14 years has been more than most of us could shoulder," McRae said.
Earlier in the day, a US judge sentenced Assange to time served and would not impose any period of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one of the US espionage charges as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Australian broadcaster ABC reported that the plane with Assange on board had left for Australia. It is expected to arrive in Canberra at 19.00 local time (09:00 GMT).
Assange, an Australian citizen, was transferred to London’s high-security Belmarsh prison in April 2019 on bail breach charges. In the US, he faced prosecution under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information that shed light on war crimes and human rights violations committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.