Suddenly Philip Ruddock is saying that Hicks could be home soon.
Mr Ruddock said the Australian government wanted a US military tribunal to prosecute Hicks and fresh charges to be in place by November.
"It should happen as quickly as possible," he told the newspaper. "Were that not to be the case, we would be seeking his return in the same way we did with Mamdouh Habib.
"I would never benchmark myself, but I do note that the United States wants to have the matters that Congress has to deal with resolved before it rises for the mid-term election, which suggests November."
