Release Julian Assange and return him to Australia, Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer says

On Friday, the UK High Court ruled that Mr Assange could be extradited to the United States under the Espionage Act, having accepted assurances from the US that he would not be held in maximum security and could be transferred to an Australian prison if requested.

His legal team has vowed to appeal, doubting these assurances. It was revealed on the weekend that Mr Assange suffered a mini-stroke in October while incarcerated in London's Belmarsh prison.

Tasmania has strong representation on a "bring Julian Assange home" parliamentary group, including Clark independent MP Andrew Wilkie, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Ms Archer.

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Ms Archer - the only Liberal in the group - said she had ongoing concerns about the treatment of Mr Assange.

"The fact that he is an Australian citizen who continues to suffer significant mental and physical health issues as a result of his ongoing incarceration because of the protracted legal battle," she said.

"I believe he should be released and returned to Australia, and will continue to advocate for diplomatic action for that to occur."

The Australian Government has stated it would respect the UK legal process, but there are growing calls for a stronger stance to be taken, including encouraging the US to conclude the matter.

Dean Yates, who lives in Evandale, was the Reuters news agency Baghdad bureau chief in 2010 when two of his staff - photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh - were gunned down by a US Apache helicopter, the circumstances of which were only revealed by Wikileaks.

He provided a witness statement for Mr Assange's defence.

Mr Yates said the latest court ruling was particularly troubling, as it had effectively cleared the legal obstacles for Mr Assange's extradition where he faces 175 years in jail in the US.

"Australia, and Australians, need to be looking at this very clearly and saying that we can't allow this to happen. If we let it happen, then we are party to the biggest setback to transparency and government accountability for decades," he said.

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"What many people have forgotten is that Julian Assange exposed the lies, abuses and deceit of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan back in 2010 and 2011. It's about war crimes and exposing the cover-ups that occurred in those wars.

"The US, with Australia and the UK, illegally invaded Iraq that left hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead, along with 4000 US soldiers. I lived there for more than two years, I know how traumatised the Iraqi people were."

The video showing the US Apache helicopter attack, dubbed "Collateral Murder", was released after careful verification by Wikileaks, including tracking down witnesses in Baghdad. Mr Yates said this level of investigation meant Mr Assange should be described as a "journalist".

With legal avenues running out, Mr Yates said it was up to the Australian Government to find a solution.

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"The only thing that's going to change this situation is if the Australian Government was to start putting pressure on the UK and US," he said.

"He's our citizen, he's served more than enough time, we want him to come home."

Tasmania seems a world away from the trauma of war around the world, but Clark independent MHR Andrew Wilkie said Mr Assange's case had fundamental issues of concern to all societies.

"The thing that gets lost in this whole issue is that it's very much about press freedom," he said.

"These are issues of whether or not an Australian Government will come to your aid when you're overseas, whether or not the Australian Government believes in media freedom.

"The issues at stake are as important to Tasmanians as to any Australians.

"Julian Assange spoke truth to power."

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