Washington: Julia Gillard was a long way from home but on friendly ground when she addressed a left-leaning think tank on Thursday morning in Washington DC.

Nevertheless the former prime minister did occasionally manage to raise eyebrows when she spoke about challenges faced by progressive leaders as part of a panel with on a panel with the former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Canadian Parliament Liberal Party member Justin Trudeau and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright participate in a panel discussion during a conference in Washington. Credit:AFP

Ms Gillard mounted a strong defence of Australia's system of compulsory voting, saying that it ensured debates were played out within the mainstream rather than among energetic minorities. She said she believed this was one reason gun control had been accepted in Australia and failed in America.

During a discussion about the potential diplomatic fallout from allegations that the US has been tapping the phones of leaders of Friendly nations such as France, Mexico and Brazil, Ms Gillard declared, "If my telephone was intercepted when I was prime minister, all that anybody would have heard would have been praise for President Obama."