Assange seeks to 'bring liberty back to Australian politics' if elected to Senate

Sydney, Mar 27 (ANI): WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has announced his plans to run for the Australian Senate, has said he wants to restore liberty to the centre of the country's politics by defending free speech and the "citizens' right to live their lives free from state interference'.

In his first interview since declaring his intention to run for the Senate in the next federal election, Assange also said he plans to be a "fierce defender of free media" if elected to the Senate, using parliamentary privilege to break court suppression orders and other "excessive constraints" on free access to information.

The founder of the whistle blowing website founder stressed that his priority was to campaign for greater openness in government, and what he termed "the politics of understanding before acting," The Age reports.

Assange criticised Australian politics for the 'increasing levels of cronyism' and 'the betrayal of the rights and interests of people by political insiders, operating in their own interests'.

According to the report, Assange said he 'could be described as a libertarian' and nominated Australian Democrats founder Don Chipp and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser as political figures that he admired.

He is considering 'all possibilities' for his Senate bid, including running as an Independent, seeking an alliance with another party, or launching a new partyevoted to open government.

According to the report, Assange repeatedly emphasised the importance of protecting small business and individuals from the power of government and large corporations. (ANI)