Russell given high representation: Bishop

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has defended the government's efforts on behalf of Greenpeace activist Colin Russell, who says Canberra should have done more to have him freed from a Russian jail.

Mr Russell was one of 30 activists arrested and detained in September for protesting against a Russian oil rig operated by Moscow-based energy company Gazprom in the Pechora Sea.

Known as the Arctic 30, the group had been accused of hooliganism, but the charges were dropped last week and all were freed after the Russian parliament passed an amnesty law.

Arriving back home to Hobart on Thursday night, Mr Russell complained that Australian authorities could have done more in their representations with their Russian counterparts.

The federal government's efforts were "a little bit too little to late", he told reporters at Hobart International Airport.

"They were going to let me go through the Russian legal process," the 59-year-oldactivist said.

"But it doesn't exist - if you're accused in Russia, you're guilty."

But Ms Bishop said the activist had received a high level of consular and ministerial assistance, saying she had personally written to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

She said the representation afforded Mr Russell was higher "than is often provided".

However, she said, to publicise her own involvement would have been counterproductive.

"If you put a lot of publicity around ministerial representation it can raise the false hopes of others in jail overseas, who can be led to believe that just a phone call from the minister can make all the difference, and that is not the case," Ms Bishop told ABC Radio on Friday.

"And by making it public it can negate the representation."

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