Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ghosh. For the last two years, the Australian government has engaged in careful, patient and determined efforts to achieve this outcome. We have used all appropriate channels to support this outcome. As I said, the Prime Minister has led these efforts and has personally raised Mr Assange's case with both President Biden and Prime Minister Sunak, and we acknowledge their engagement on this.

I have been consistent and clear in this place that resolution would only be possible after legal processes had concluded. In fact, on a number of occasions—I note that Senator Shoebridge has left the chamber—when Senator Shoebridge was accusing me of not doing enough on this case, I made the point to him and to others in the Greens about how these matters had been resolved in a comparable case, as was the case here again. Obviously, we have approached this issue calmly and consistently. (Time expired)