The plan for a new Russian embassy in Canberra (Rod McGuirk/AP)
The plan for a new Russian embassy in Canberra (Rod McGuirk/AP)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected the Russian act of defiance in occupying the siege of the capital, saying “a dead man in a pasture in Canberra poses a risk to our national security. “
Albanese said he was certain the deportation would face any Russian court challenge.
Last week, parliament passed an emergency law blocking Russia’s lease on the largely empty bloc for security reasons because the new embassy would have been too close to parliament.
A man has been living in a portable construction at the site since Sunday, when passersby first saw Australian Federal Police outside the fenced block in Yarralumla’s diplomatic district.
The Russian embassy declined to comment on media reports that the man saw a Russian diplomat smoking cigarettes outside his home.
The embassy also declined to explain why the man was at the scene, saying in an email: “The embassy does not comment on this. “
Albanese said the challenge would be “solved” but specified how.
“Australia will defend our values and we will protect our national security and a bloodless man status on a little grass in Canberra is not a risk to our national security,” he told reporters in an outdoor courtyard of his parliament. . Home office.
Russia then informed Canberra of its intention to challenge the termination of the lease in the High Court on constitutional grounds, according to an Australian statement.
“Russia’s challenge to the validity of the law is not unexpected,” he said. “It’s part of the Russian manual. “
A court order hearing has been scheduled for Monday, the government said.
Don Rothwell, an expert on foreign law at the Australian National University, said the immigrant profession did not give Russia any merit in any legal challenge to their removal.
“What they are doing is diplomatic civil disobedience by expressing their displeasure with the Australian government’s action,” he said.
The option for Russia to succeed in its legal challenge lies in the amount of reimbursement Australia offers for money already spent on structures and earthworks, Mr Rothwell.
Moscow says it has spent 5. 5 million Australian dollars (£2. 9 million) on the site since the lease obtained in 2008. The completed works include a fence and a single perimeter construction that will be part of a planned complex of several constructions.
If he is a diplomat, he could simply invoke diplomatic immunity if he was arrested by the police, who would then have to release him.
It is possible that the government will simply claim him persona non grata, which would mean revoking his diplomatic immunity. These other people have 48 hours to leave Australia or face arrest.
It is possible that Russia will then send a diplomat to update you, Mr Rothwell.
Albanese said, “We really follow the law. Lately, Russia is not very smart in law. “
Police pleaded with reporters at the scene Thursday not to cross the perimeter fence or the gate that was chained and padlocked from the inside.
A hand pulling the blinds was the only evidence that someone was inside the small cabin.
Last week, Russia accused Australia of “Russophobic hysteria” for cancelling the lease, after relations deteriorated since the start of the war in Ukraine last year.
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