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 degree.
“Governments and politicians have gotten to cease hiding behind the excuse of the Julian Assange matter being a authorized matter,” he advised AAP.
“It has at all times been an intensely political matter.”
The feedback got here after former attorney-general George Brandis mentioned 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 advised the ABC.
“It was authorized proceedings in a British courtroom between the federal government of america and a non-public 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 legal prices 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 navy data and diplomatic cables, which US officers have mentioned put lives at risk.
Final month, UK Dwelling Secretary Priti Patel accepted his extradition, together with her workplace saying UK courts had concluded his extradition wouldn’t be incompatible together with his human rights, and that he can be handled appropriately.
Nonetheless, Mr Wilkie mentioned the matter could possibly be solved with a telephone 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 mentioned.
“I do not doubt that Australia has sufficient affect to convey this to an finish, we underestimate ourselves to assume in any other case, and we’re shut allies of each nations.”
The impartial MP mentioned 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 mentioned.
Mr Albanese has mentioned he did not see the aim of the “ongoing pursuit” of Mr Assange.
However he mentioned the federal government would take care of the matter by diplomatic channels.
Former overseas minister Bob Carr mentioned 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, mentioned he had made some extent for employees to at all times be made obtainable to satisfy the journalist’s “cheap requests”.
“I instituted a observe of writing to him each month to ask him if there was something extra he wanted,” Mr Brandis mentioned.
“Most of these letters have 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 degree of consular help.”