Dick Smith lobbied US to drop Julian Assange extradition request

Entrepreneur Dick Smith personally lobbied the United States ambassador for Washington to drop its extradition request for Julian Assange for the sake of "good relations" with Australia.

Mr Smith, who made his name and fortune with his chain of electronics stores, made his views clear in a letter to Arthur B Culvahouse Jnr earlier this year, warning the US's relationship with Australia would be "damaged" should Mr Assange be extradited from Britain.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Dick Smith wants the United States to drop its attempt to bring Julian Assange to trial over espionage charges.Credit: James Brickwood

The campaign for the Morrison government to intervene gathered momentum on Monday after former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce lent his support to the WikiLeaks founder's cause.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie also revealed that a multi-party parliamentary group to "agitate" for Mr Assange to be brought home to Australia would be launched in the coming weeks and would include some members of the Coalition government.

In April, Mr Smith voiced concerns to Washington's man in Canberra that Mr Assange could be charged under an "outrageous" US claim to "universal jurisdiction over every person on earth".

"Australians, like Americans, may have mixed opinions on Julian Assange, however, I believe the tide will turn if it appears an Aussie is being made a scapegoat for a security failure of the US intelligence services," Mr Smith wrote in the letter seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

"I can assure you that many Australians will not readily accept that Mr Assange is being held responsible for such a serious security failure, as embarrassing as it may be."

He said it was "imperative to maintain the good relations" between Australia and the US, but Washington would "jeopardise" the relationship by asking its courts to "criminalise journalistic endeavours".

"I believe this will damage the reputation of the United States as an upholder of freedom of speech and a defender of human rights, and result in untold damage to the good relations between Australia and the American people."

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the government would not intervene in attempts by the US to have the 48-year-old Australian stand trial, where he faces a sentence of 175 years if found guilty of computer fraud and obtaining and disclosing national defence information.

"He [Assange] ultimately will face the justice for what he's been alleged to have done, but that is a legal process that will run its course," Mr Frydenberg told ABC News.

"But we will continue, as a government, to provide him with the appropriate consular services."

Liberal Senator James Paterson said both Britain, where Mr Assange is currently in jail for breaching bail conditions, and the US were "rule of law countries".

"This is not the case in many other countries in the world. Sadly, we know there are Australian citizens detained right now in China and Iran who are not facing free and fair legal systems ... and the Australian government does have a greater obligation to assist those citizens," Senator Paterson said.

Confidential government briefing notes, inadvertently released on email by the Prime Minister's Office on Monday, gave "talking points" to MPs if they were asked about Mr Assange and his fight against extradition from Britain to the US.

"The Australian government cannot interfere in the United Kingdom's legal processes, just as another country cannot interfere in ours," the briefing note says.

"We appreciate that some members of the public feel very strongly about Mr Assange's situation but it is important to remember that Australia cannot intervene in the legal processes of another country.

"Mr Assange will be entitled to due process, including legal representation, in those processes."