The upper house has passed a motion by Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce calling for action but also praising the new Military Commission laws under which Hicks is expected to be tried.
Earlier, the Senate narrowly defeated a rival Australian Democrats motion criticising the military commission system and demanding Hicks either get a fair trial or be brought back to
Australia.
The Democrats' motion moved by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja and voted on without debate noted Hicks is yet to be charged under the new act and its provisions mean he won't have a fair trial.
Australian Green Bob Brown says the motion effectively approves Australia's obsequious role in allowing Hicks to be treated in a way no American citizen would be treated.
Before passing Senator Joyce’s motion the Senate defeated a Greens' amendment that would have criticised the government for failing to get Hicks returned home after nearly five years in Guantanamo Bay.
Terry Hicks’s thanks to Bono
The ABC has reported that Hicks’s father, Terry Hicks, has invited the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2 to meet him when the band visits Adelaide next week as part of its world tour.
Bono told a Brisbane concert audience on Tuesday night that Hicks should be sent home to face a fair trial.
Mr Hicks told the ABC that the support for his son was gratifying and that he hopes to meet Bono to thank him.
"I spoke with the promotions people to pass on a message of thanks and just intimating that when he comes to Adelaide that maybe we could - either I contact him or he contacts me, whichever way - just to have a bit of a talk and so I could personally thank him," Mr Hicks told the ABC.