Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is frustrated his government has not been able to find a diplomatic solution to Julian Assange's ongoing incarceration and that he is concerned about the 51-year-old's health.
In an interview with the ABC in London, Mr Albanese said he had made his position very clear to the US government about the Department of Justice's pursuit of extradition proceedings against the WikiLeaks publisher.
"I continue to say in private what I said publicly as Labor leader and what I've said as Prime Minister, that enough is enough," Mr Albanese said.
"This needs to be brought to a conclusion."
"It needs to be worked through, we're working through diplomatic channels, we're making very clear what our position is on Mr Assange's case."
The US is seeking to extradite Mr Assange from the UK on 18 charges relating to the publishing of tens of thousands of military and diplomatic documents.
The UK has agreed to his extradition, but the WikiLeaks founder is appealing that decision through the courts.
Mr Assange has been inside London's Belmarsh Prison for more than four years.
In what appeared to be his strongest comments yet on the case, Mr Albanese expressed his frustration that diplomacy had not yet been able to resolve the issue.
"I know it's frustrating. I share the frustration. I can't do more than make very clear what my position is," he said.
"And the US administration is certainly very aware of what the Australian government's position is."
Mr Albanese refused to confirm whether he would raise the issue with US President Joe Biden when he visited Australia this month for the Quad leaders' summit.
"The way that diplomacy works is probably not to forecast the discussions that you will have or have had with leaders of other nations," he said.
'Disconnect' between treatment of Assange and Manning
The prime minister said he had "some issues" with what Mr Assange published and understood concerns raised in the US that leaks of confidential information could "lead to consequences for people who are engaged in an activity".
However he said the punishment of Mr Assange has been disproportionate.
"I think that when Australians look at the circumstances, look at the fact that the person who released the information (Chelsea Manning) is walking freely now, having served some time in incarceration but is now released for a long period of time, then they'll see that there is a disconnect there."
Australian High Commissioner Stephen Smith visited Mr Assange for the first time inside Belmarsh prison last month.
As part of that visit, Mr Smith said he was keen to "check on his health and wellbeing".
Speaking to the ABC on Thursday, Mr Albanese said he was worried about the Wikileaks publisher's health.
"I am concerned about Mr Assange's mental health. There was a court decision here in the United Kingdom that was then overturned on appeal that went to Mr Assange's health as well, and I am concerned for him," he said.
When asked whether Western leaders were doing enough to speak up about principles of freedom of expression around Mr Assange's case, Mr Albanese said it was important to balance free speech with national security.
"We do value freedom of expression, but we also have, in today's uncertain world, legitimate concerns about our national security," he said.
"I'm not going to sit here as someone who chairs our National Security Committee and say it's fine if you publish all of the details about our National Security Committee deliberations because if you did that Australian lives would be put in danger.
"There are real consequences for that … I'm a big supporter of freedom of the press, but with that also comes a responsibility to take into account the consequences of whether information which is not available to the public, what the consequences would be if we had just a free for all."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who was a senior cabinet minister in the former Coalition government, agreed Mr Assange's detention had gone on for too long.
He told the ABC he was concerned for Mr Assange at an "individual level".
"I think it has gone on for too long," he said.
"I think that is the fault of many people, including Mr Assange to be honest.
"But the matters, I think, have to be dealt with and if the PM is charting a course through to an outcome for that, that is a good thing."
