The Australian newspaper has revealed that a lone diplomat is refusing to leave the Commonwealth land formerly held by the Russians for a future embassy, triggering a stand-off with Australian Federal Police. Police are unable to remove him, even though the site has been voided as embassy land, because he holds diplomatic immunity.
But Anthony Albanese said the government had begun the process to take back possession of the block, and said the government remained confident its legal position was sound. "A bloke standing in the cold on a blade of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security," Mr Albanese said.