Waters gave a wide-ranging, exclusive interview on the back of his recent public statement expressing his support for Assange, who remains in Ecuador’s London embassy after seeking political asylum in 2012. Roger Waters in action. Credit:Wolter Peeters In the statement, Waters had called Assange a "national Australian treasure" and "not a criminal", and said Australians should take part in demonstrations in Assange’s cause on March 3 and 10. Waters, 75, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age he had not personally met Assange but said he recognised a kindred spirit. "We live in strange and dark times and we need journalists and others, activists of all kinds, to shine light into the dark places," he said. "Julian Assange figured out how to provide us … with a vehicle that can be used by people with ears in places that the powers that be don’t want them.

"He’s a hero of mine." Waters had used the infamous Collateral Murder footage leaked to WikiLeaks in his The Wall tour, which he said made him "feel at least to some extent part of the family". WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Credit:AP Waters doubted the legitimacy of a rape investigation in Sweden, which was discontinued in 2017 after prosecutors said that in Assange’s absence "all prospects of pursuing the investigation are now exhausted". "They tried to set him up," Waters said. "They thought, 'Aha, got him, extradite him and then we can lock him up for the rest of his life.' "

He accused Ecuador of "torturing" Assange by recently denying him internet access. Waters said he was also a big supporter of Chelsea Manning, who he said had been treated in a "disgusting and despicable" way by the US government. Roger Waters has views on Venezuela too. Opposition supporters attending a rally against Nicolas Maduro. Credit:Bloomberg "Any of those mavericks who take the risk to shine some light … I have enormous respect for their courage," he said. Waters caused a stir earlier this week by tweeting criticism of Richard Branson’s plan for a Live Aid-style concert to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Venezuela. Waters said aid should not be politicised, and the concert had "nothing to do with humanitarian aid at all; it has to do with Richard Branson" and US ambitions to "take over" Venezuela.

Last month, Waters chartered a jet to rescue two stranded Trinidadian boys from Syria, after they had been abducted and taken there by their father. The writer of the song Us and Them, which appeared on the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon and was the name of recent a Waters' tour, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that he felt a "Good Samaritan" impulse to help people – and he said Australia should embrace that impulse. "You know we get more joy, I believe, if you go out of your way to try and make it better for your brothers and sisters, and if you welcome your brothers and sisters from Asia in," he said. "Australia is a big enough country, you could get the whole population of the bloody world on it if you could figure out how to get some irrigation.

"That brings you far more joy than going 'Nah, get out of here, we’re going to lock you up on an island somewhere and then send you wherever we can.' Legendary rock band Pink Floyd pictured in the 1960s, with Roger Waters at centre right. "You have a very right-wing government ... it’s always 'divide and conquer'. If you can persuade the people who vote for you that the problem [is] people who are trying to flood through the borders, you can get them to do almost anything." He said Australia was an "unbelievably racist" country, the legacy of its colonial past. "That doesn’t just go away, that lives in your bones," he said. "They created in you an idea that because you came from Europe and you’re pale skinned, people who are not pale skinned and didn’t come from Europe … are in some way inferior to you.