In a new article titled "Penny Wong moves to dampen expectation of breakthrough in Julian Assange case," The Guardian quotes Australia's foreign minister as saying, "We are doing what we can, between government and government, but there are limits to what that diplomacy can achieve." Wong said this when asked if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed the world's most famous press freedom case with the US president and British prime minister when he met with them together two weeks ago.

Wong refused to say whether her government's leader had raised the issue with his supposed US and UK counterparts, repeating instead the same line she's been bleating since Labor took over: that the Assange case "has dragged on long enough and should be brought to a close." Which if you listen carefully isn't actually a statement in favor of releasing the WikiLeaks founder or blocking extradition — it's just saying the case should be concluded hastily, one way or another.