Stephen Smith named UK high commissioner as government flags fewer political appointments

Penny Wong defends appointing former Labor minister as a sign of the eminence of Australia's relationship with the UK'

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The former Labor minister Stephen Smith has been named as Australia's next high commissioner to the UK - but the Albanese government has yet to reveal who it will send to Washington.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, defended the political appointment, noting that the London post had long been held by senior former ministers as a sign of the eminence of Australia's relationship with the United Kingdom".

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