Libertarian Commentator Chrysten Abraham says Julian Assange “continued the pursuit of truth” in the “public interest”. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to Australia as a free man after pleading guilty to espionage in a plea deal to secure his release. “The thing about free speech is to ensure that we all continue to have it, you also have to protect the free speech of the people you don’t agree with,” Ms Abraham told Sky News Australia. “It is a protection for all of us and it is unwavering that we all have to fight for. “Julian Assange, I do believe is a journalist. He continued the pursuit of the truth in the public interest. "What other way would you define journalism as."

Libertarian Commentator Chrysten Abraham says Julian Assange has been the “biggest campaigner” for free speech. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to Australia as a free man after pleading guilty to espionage in a plea deal to secure his release. “I think Julian Assange has been the biggest campaigner for free speech that I have seen in my lifetime,” Ms Abraham told Sky News Australia. “I am honoured to be sitting in the Sky News studio today to watch that piece of history of bringing Julian Assange home.”

Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood says there are “increasing” chances of a rate rise in August. Australia’s inflation rate rose from 3.6 per cent to 4 per cent in May. Markets are now predicting a 67 per cent chance of a rate hike in August.

CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski says the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and S&P 500 all made gains. “We had the S&P 500 up by a 0.2 of a per cent, The Nasdaq up by about a half of one per cent, the Dow just in positive territory,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “Bit of a bump higher as far as interest rates are concerned, but they have fallen considerably in the United States in the course of the last month.” Presented by CommSec.

Labor MP Luke Gosling says the AUKUS nuclear submarine project may not be ambitious enough. The trilateral security partnership announced under the Morrison government was for eight nuclear power submarines to be built by 2050. Mr Gosling made the case for the project's expansion during a speech at the National Press Club.

Qatar Airways has hinted at buying a 20 per cent stake in Virgin Australia. The Qatari government-owned airline is already in partnership with Virgin to codeshare flights. Final approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board would be needed before any final decisions are made. Sources suggest a deal could be struck as soon as next week.

A pair of Elvis Presley's blue suede shoes are going up for auction in the UK this weekend. The size 10.5 shoes were worn by Presley on and off stage throughout the 1950s. The shoes are expected to fetch between $190,000 – $230,000 AUD.

The journey to freedom for Julian Assange is complete. The WikiLeaks Founder has returned to Australia a free man, but as a convicted felon, after pleading guilty to espionage in a plea deal to secure his release. While it brings to an end his 14-year ordeal to be freed, his lawyers argue he never should have been charged in the first place

Sky News host Sharri Markson discusses Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s remarks about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange landing in Canberra. “The PM couldn’t help but take a bit of credit for the release or full credit rather for the release,” Ms Markson said. “He said he raised the case personally with the United States President Joe Biden and he gave his own government a pat on the back.”

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson discusses the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “He’s back, and I think he joins the group of Australian journalists who prodded at power and have exposed military secrets,” Mr Robertson Sky News host Sharri Markson “The judge in sentencing him said that there was no physical harm resulting from his work.”

The Australian’s Associate Editor Graham Lloyd discusses the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “There has been a complete breakdown in trust, if you like, in the institutions, particularly in parts of America to a lesser extent probably here,” Mr Lloyd told Sky News host Paul Murray. “There has also been a huge rise in the ability and capacity of the online world. “Julian Assange is presenting himself as a journalist, (and) that’s debatable. Certainly, he was a publisher.”

Sky News host Rita Panahi has reacted to US Vice President Kamala Harris’ “hilarious” financial advice. “Let’s have some more financial advice from the woman one geriatric heartbeat away from the Oval Office,” she said. “Hilarious. That public service, none of it good, has seen Kamala Harris accumulate a net worth somewhere between seven and 15 million.”

Activist economists are suggesting that Donald Trump presidency could be “disastrous” for the US economy and the world in the latest “scare campaign” against the former president, according to Sky News host Rita Panahi. “This is the same scaremongering we saw before 2016,” she said. “Do they think the American people have mass amnesia?”

Sky News Political Reporter Cameron Reddin says the AEMO has been “sounding the alarm bells” over the risk of gas shortages for the past week. “AEMO’s been pretty clear about this short-term threat as well; it’s been sounding the alarm bells for the best part of a week now about these gas shortages and the threat of running out of gas in winter … due to the underperformance of renewables,” he told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “We know the government has an 82 per cent target for 2030, it’s really relying on that to meet its emissions targets … about 35 per cent roughly is being provided into the system by renewables; that’s on the east coast market.”

Filmmaker Ami Horowitz discusses the Lucasfilm production Star Wars taking “overtly political positions”. This comes as Elon Musk says Lucasfilm has killed Star Wars with its “woke” propaganda – labelling boss Kathleen Kennedy “more deadly than the Death Star”. “They are really doing themselves a disservice by focusing and leaning into wokeness,” Mr Horowitz told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “It doesn’t make any sense and it’s killing them.”

Former prime minister Tony Abbott says the Ukrainians are “defiant but somewhat despondent” as they haven’t been given in a timely fashion the help they need to win their war against Russia. “They have been given enough not to lose but they haven’t been given enough to win,” Mr Abbott told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “Australia has been, frankly, embarrassingly dithering … it’s relatively puny assistance to Ukraine.”

Sky News host Chris Kenny says Labor insists they have the “inflation dragon slayed” as monthly inflation rises to four per cent from 3.6 per cent. “Labor keeps telling us they have got the inflation dragon slayed,” Mr Kenny said. “But it bumping up to four per cent, it seems we are really on the lookout now for another interest rate rise.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have been queried over the costs of their “all-renewables approach”. “This is where I think we have asked not only the Prime Minister but Chris Bowen in parliament this week about what are the actual genuine cost of their all-renewables approach,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “We will be upfront … about what the costs are for nuclear, but we already have some of those numbers out.”

Transport Minister Catherine King says the Suburban Rail Loop is a “one in a generation” infrastructure project. “The Suburban Rail Loop is a once in a generation infrastructure project that will transform the way in which people move about the state of Victoria and also reshape the way in which Victoria grows including where people live and the opportunities for people to live around public transport,” she said during Question Time on Wednesday. “We have made a capped contribution of $2.2 billion towards the early works of Suburban Rail Loop East and release of that funding is contingent on the program meeting the conditions under the National Land Transport Act.”

Judo Bank Economic Adviser Warren Hogan says the recent monthly inflation data is “bad news” for Australia’s economy. Monthly inflation has risen to 4 per cent from 3.6 per cent. Mr Hogan told Sky News Australia that the data has “big implications” for the RBA and interest rates.