Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, teal independent Monique Ryan, Liberal senator Alex Antic and two Greens senators Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge are in the US to lobby the government to abandon its extradition proceedings against Assange.

The Wikileaks founder is facing historic allegations of espionage.

The delegation has scored a number of meetings, with Mr Joyce saying the trip was going well.

“We just continue to do the best job we can,” he said from Washington.

Senator Shoebridge said the delegation had been clear in meetings that there was “a powerful expectation” that Assange be able to come home and be with his family before Christmas.

Republican congressman Thomas Massie said it was imperative that the matter moved forward.

“The precedent this case sets – to put someone in prison or extradite them for merely publishing facts – is very dangerous,” he said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong reiterated the government’s position that it would like to see the case come to an end.

“We are consistent in our view that we think this has gone on too long,” she told reporters on the sideline of the UN in New York.

“The breadth of political representation on this delegation, I think, demonstrates that there are a great many people in Australia who would like to see this matter resolved.”

She added that Assange and his legal team needed to be a part of the resolution and that remained a matter for them.

The Australian delegation took out a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post about Assange, which was signed by more than 60 Australians politicians, including independents and members from the Liberals, Labor and the Greens.

The ad said the prosecution served no purpose and was unjust.

A media conference with Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton is scheduled for Thursday morning (AEST).

Assange, an Australian citizen, faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse after WikiLeaks published a raft of classified documents more than a decade ago.

They included videos of a 2007 Baghdad air strike, field reports from the Iraq War, and hundreds of thousands of items of US diplomatic correspondence

Assange was granted political asylum and lived in London’s Ecuadorian embassy from 2012 until 2019.

He has been imprisoned in the United Kingdom for the four years since then and continues to fight extradition to the US.

American prosecutors allege he helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Mr Joyce said the delegation was not trying to pick a fight with the government but represent the views of Australians.

The delegation will meet members of Congress and Senate, the US State Department and the Department of Justice.

The prime minister and opposition leader in May publicly agreed Assange’s prosecution had gone on for too long.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on an official state visit in October.