Anthony Albanese on Canberra Capital Circle squatter: ‘Some bloke on a bit of grass’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has downplayed the threat to national security posed by a Russian diplomat who illegally squatted on the site previously proposed to house the country’s new embassy in Canberra.

The diplomat, who enjoys diplomatic immunity and cannot be arrested, remains on the scene despite new laws stormed through parliament last week.

Last week, the government pushed legislation through parliament to block the Kremlin’s access to land it rented in Yarralumla, less than a kilometer from the parliament building, on national security grounds.

The laws have voided Russia’s lease on the new site, making the diplomat – who was photographed at the site on Thursday dressed in casual clothes and casually smoking a cigarette – an illegal squatter.

Mr Albanese confirmed on Friday morning that the Russian diplomat was crouching on the premises after his presence was first reported by the Australian newspaper the previous evening.

But he said that unlike the proposed embassy, ​​he did not see the man as a significant threat to Australia’s national security.

“The national security threat represented by a Russian embassy on the ground is not the same as a guy standing on a patch of grass. We do not see it as a threat to our national security,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese would not say when the government found out the squatter was there, but said he was confident the problem would be resolved.

One way the government could remove the man is to deem him persona non grata and ask Russia to recall him. If the recall is ignored, Australia may no longer consider him a diplomat, nullifying his diplomatic immunity.

Mr Albanese would not be interested in whether that was an option the government was considering, but admitted she had expected Russia ‘to be unhappy’ with the decision to block their access to the new embassy.

“We are confident in our legal position and our national security commission expected Russia not to be happy – we expected that, but we are confident in our position and processes are underway for the Commonwealth to formalize ownership of the site,” he said. he said. .

Mr Albanese dismissed concerns about the prospect of legal action by the Russian Federation to challenge the government’s decision to legislate against its use of the site for an embassy.

“Now we actually support the law. Russia hasn’t been very good at the law lately,” he said.

Their illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine shows its contempt for the rule of law, for national sovereignty and for the way it conducts its affairs.

“Australia will stand up for our values ​​and we will stand up for our national security.”

Legislation to thwart the Kremlin’s plans for its new embassy was rushed through parliament after the federal court ruled invalid a National Capital Authority order for Russia to leave the premises.

Albanese said last week the government had received “clear national security advice” that the plot’s proximity to parliament would allow for “possible interference” by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoys in Australia.

The Russian government bought the lease for the site in 2008 and had its plans approved in 2011, but had not progressed the works before legislation passed last week.

The existing Russian embassy in Griffith, a Canberra suburb, has not been affected by the new legislation

When asked on Friday why Russia was allowed to buy the lease for the new venue in the first place, Mr Albanese said: ‘I am not responsible for 2008, but the world was different in 2008’.

It may have been different, but in August 2008 Russia, under Putin, and Russian-backed separatists were at war in Georgia.

Mr Albanese said people should “look at that process” at the time.