Their mission was to convince the department responsible for prosecuting Assange that the dial had shifted in Australia and that its people, and its politicians, wanted the WikiLeaks publisher to be freed and returned home.
The delegation during the meeting raised several issues including freedom of speech, shifting public sentiment in Australia, the US-Australia alliance, and jurisdictional rights.
It was then that Mr Joyce brought Johnny Depp's dogs into it, raising the infamous case in 2015 when the then-minister for agriculture threatened to euthanise the Hollywood star's pooches — Pistol and Boo — due to quarantine breaches.
"I told them it diminished Australia's ability to stand on behalf of others being detained in authoritarian countries when Julian was being held inside Belmarsh Prison," the Labor MP said.
"It would be fair to say within that hyper-partisan environment, they didn't know what to make of this group of assorted Australian politicians who on paper had so much that divided them, that were all pushing for this same outcome, and all prized Julian's freedom."
The group acknowledged the important roles played by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Australia's US Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Assange's family, his legal team, and the Australian people.
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