WikiLeaks 'not a front for the Greens'

Julian Assange has taken responsibility for the apparent disintegration of his WikiLeaks Party. Source: AAP

THE WikiLeaks Party has accused the Australian Greens of trying to divert voters away from it.

Julian Assange's party faced criticism earlier in the week for preferencing the Shooters and Fishers Party and Australia First Party ahead of the major parties and the Greens on its how to vote cards.

Greens Leader Christine Milne went as far as accusing WikiLeaks as "betraying" her party.

The party has rejected that claim, saying it had placed the Greens first among the major parties in all states where it has candidates.

"Milne's comments must be seen as ungracious and part of a hostile attempt to divert voters from the WikiLeaks Party," it said in a statement on Thursday.

The party warned that it wasn't a "front group for any other party, including the Greens".

WikiLeaks has both right-wing and left-wing policy goals, it says.

"The WikiLeaks Party is both a party of the left and the right in that we represent the struggle for both justice and freedom," the party said.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks announced RMIT legal expert Dr Binoy Kampmark would now be Mr Assange's main running mate in the Senate election for Victoria.

He replaces ethicist Leslie Cannold who quit on Wednesday after a dispute over preferences, claiming the party was failing to live up to its democratic principles.

Her resignation was followed by other senior figures walking away from the party, including a number of people on its National Council.

Mr Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, said he had spent the past two months dealing with the Edward Snowden asylum situation.

"Trying to save the life of a young man," Mr Assange told ABC television.

"So I admit and I accept full responsibility for over-delegating function to the Australian party while I tried to take care of those situations."

He said the nine-hour time difference made it difficult being party leader and he hadn't been aware of the internal problems until Wednesday morning.

"Leslie didn't speak to me to address any issues or concerns," he said.

"From my perspective, if something is serious you speak to the party leader about it before you speak to the press."

National Council member Daniel Mathews announced his resignation late on Wednesday night, citing "the recent fiasco over Senate preferences".

Mr Mathews was critical of Mr Assange for only attending one of 13 National Council meetings.

"Helping Ed Snowden is surely more important than attending a council meeting," he said in a statement.

"But still, attending one out of the first 13 National Council meetings of the party (all of which he could call into) is a fairly low participation rate in one's own party."

Senior Liberal Eric Abetz said the implosion of the WikiLeaks Party highlights the essential instability of minor parties".

"This is a salutary object lesson on the dangers of voting for minor parties," Senator Abetz said in a statement.

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