Unbiased MP Andrew Wilkie has hit again at claims Australia had no authorized grounds to intervene within the case of Julian Assange.
Mr Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst and a distinguished advocate for Mr Assange, says the matter could possibly be solved shortly at a political stage.
“Governments and politicians have gotten to cease hiding behind the excuse of the Julian Assange matter being a authorized matter,” he instructed AAP.
“It has at all times been an intensely political matter.”
The feedback got here after former attorney-general George Brandis stated Australia had no authorized grounds in Mr Assange’s case.
“Australia wasn’t a celebration to the proceedings and had no standing to intervene within the proceedings,” Mr Brandis instructed the ABC.
“It was authorized proceedings in a British court docket between the federal government of the USA and a personal citizen. We might not intervene in these proceedings.”
The WikiLeaks founder and Australian journalist has appealed to the Excessive Courtroom in London to dam his extradition to the US to face prison costs within the newest step of a authorized battle that has dragged on for greater than a decade.
Mr Assange, 50, is needed by US authorities on 18 counts, together with a spying cost, regarding WikiLeaks’ launch of huge troves of confidential US army information and diplomatic cables, which US officers have stated put lives at risk.
Final month, UK Residence Secretary Priti Patel permitted his extradition, along with her workplace saying UK courts had concluded his extradition wouldn’t be incompatible along with his human rights, and that he can be handled appropriately.
Nonetheless, Mr Wilkie stated the matter could possibly be solved with a cellphone name from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the US or UK.
“This has gone on lengthy sufficient, it is time to put it to an finish,” he stated.
“I do not doubt that Australia has sufficient affect to convey this to an finish, we underestimate ourselves to suppose in any other case, and we’re shut allies of each international locations.”
The unbiased MP stated he was nonetheless optimistic about there being a change within the final result for Mr Assange following the change of presidency in Australia at Could’s federal election.
“We maintain out hope that with a change of presidency we see some progress on this,” Mr Wilkie stated.
Mr Albanese has stated he did not see the aim of the “ongoing pursuit” of Mr Assange.
However he stated the federal government would cope with the matter by way of diplomatic channels.
Former international minister Bob Carr stated on Friday the federal government ought to inform the US “the Australian folks need the Assange extradition quietly put aside”, simply because the US had commuted the sentence of whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
Mr Brandis, who oversaw consular help for Mr Assange when he was Australia’s excessive commissioner in London, stated he had made some extent for workers to at all times be made out there to fulfill the journalist’s “cheap requests”.
“I instituted a apply of writing to him each month to ask him if there was something extra he wanted,” Mr Brandis stated.
“Most of these letters had been unresponded to, however there has not been a criticism that I am conscious of, from Mr Assange or his surrogates, that the Australian Excessive Fee didn’t present an acceptable stage of consular assist.”