Near the Parliament
Australia bans Russian embassy construction
6/15/2023 7:23 am
For years, Russia has leased a property in the immediate vicinity of the Australian Parliament in Canberra. A new embassy may not be built there, according to a decision by the Australian government. Prime Minister Albanese cites “national security” reasons
Australia’s government has blocked the construction of a new Russian embassy near Parliament in Canberra on “national security” grounds. “The government has received very clear security advice on the risks that a new Russian presence so close to Parliament would have posed,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a news conference. With the support of the opposition, his government brought the legal basis for the decision through both chambers of parliament in an expedited procedure – the whole thing took less than two hours.
“We are acting quickly to ensure the leasehold does not become a formal diplomatic representation,” Albanese said. From a legal point of view, the law prohibits the construction of any diplomatic missions on the property – regardless of the country. However, Australian politicians made little secret of the fact that their actions are particularly aimed at Russia as an undesirable parliamentary neighbor at the location in question. A Russian diplomat told AFP the embassy was seeking “legal advice” in response to Albanese’s announcement.
Embassy so far in the suburb
The background is a court decision made a few weeks ago. With this, the planning authority of the Australian government was forbidden to withdraw Russia’s right to use the leased area in the embassy district of the capital Canberra. With reference to national security interests, this judgment has now been overturned. The current Russian embassy in the Griffith suburb will remain unaffected, as will the Australian mission in Moscow, Albanese said.
The planning authority approved the leasing of the property in December 2008, and the building permits were granted in 2011. Russia contractually committed to completing the construction work within three years – but the half-finished new embassy building was never completed. The planning authority finally terminated the lease agreement, arguing that the permanent construction site disturbed “the overall aesthetic impression” of the diplomatic quarter and did not do justice to its “importance and dignity”. However, a court declared the dismissal null and void, which is why the law has now been passed. According to the Australian Ministry of the Interior, no decision has yet been made on the future use of the site.