Julian Assange says he wants to bring liberty back to the centre of Australian politics, using his Senate candidacy to defend free speech and the ''right of citizens … to live their lives free from state interference''.

The WikiLeaks founder also plans to be a ''fierce defender of free media'' if elected to the Senate, using parliamentary privilege to break court suppression orders and other ''excessive constraints'' on free access to information.

Julian Assange. Credit:Reuters

In his first interview since declaring his intention to run for the Senate in the next federal election, Mr Assange said he ''could be described as a libertarian'' and nominated Australian Democrats founder Don Chipp and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser as political figures he admired.

Mr Assange declared his priority was to campaign for greater openness in government, what he termed ''the politics of understanding before acting''.