What we learned; Thursday 5 March
And with that, we are going to shut the blog. Before we go, let’s recap the big healdines:
The federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, announced there will be a parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, welcomed the first flight from Dubai to Sydney carrying more than 230 Australians returning Wednesday, and has announced another three flights are scheduled to return Thursday. Speaking to journalists, Wong said there’s much more to do to get Australians home.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, faced questions on how the conflict in the Middle East will impact the budget due to be handed down in just over two months. Chalmers had a pretty decent day Wednesday off the back of some positive national accounts figures that showed Australia’s economic growth accelerated at the end of 2025.
The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, softened his support for US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying while he welcomed end of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime – “the principal source of instability and terror in the region” – he did not believe the attacks on Iran were legal, and they represent “another example of the failure of the international order”.
Six teams have been deployed to the Middle East to help with the mammoth consular effort, to get tens of thousands of Australians home. Wong said she was “deeply concerned” about the spread of conflict in the region with Iran engaging in attacks against 11 countries, including Turkey – a Nato country – overnight.
Australian shares are set to reverse some of Wednesday’s steep losses after investors reacted positively to overnight reports that Iranian authorities are seeking to restart negotiations with the US.
Victorian attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, confirmed she is seeking advice to change the laws that allow the issuing of suppression orders for high-profile defendants.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the state government will draft legislation for changes to roadside drug testing for medicinal cannabis users, a recommendation of its 2024 drug summit, following accusations it had “squibbed” the opportunity for major drug reform.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us.
Updated
Last call for robodebt victims to sign up to class action suit
Lawyers running a class action on behalf of robodebt victims have urged victims to register for compensation before tomorrow’s deadline.
Gordon Legal is trying to identify potential class action members for a settlement of $475m, which it has agreed to with the federal government over the illegal robodebt scheme. The law firm initially settled with the government in 2021 for $112m, but has since appealed and agreed to a higher settlement.
So far, only a quarter of potentially eligible claimants have registered to receive compensation through the new settlement, with the deadline on Friday.
Andrew Grech, partner at Gordon Legal, said:
Tomorrow’s deadline is the last chance for robodebt victims to have their claims heard. More than 135,000 people have already registered, but with up to 482,530 potentially eligible, there are hundreds of thousands of Australians who may still be entitled to compensation and have not yet come forward.
Anyone impacted by the robodebt scheme needs to register before the 6th of March.
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Sydney university students protest war on Iran despite threat of disciplinary action
University of Sydney anti-war protesters today went ahead with a speakout despite the risk of disciplinary action after they had been warned the action was “unacceptable”, reporters Daisy Dumas and Caitlin Cassidy write.
About 40 Students Against War protesters marched from the Law School to the United States Study Centre in protest against the war on Iran. The group claimed via Instagram on Wednesday that the university had attempted to shut the protest down:
USYD management has declared our protest against the bombing of Iran ‘unacceptable activity’ after security met with the US Studies Centre. We say the real unacceptable activity is the bombing, not the protest against it.
They are using the campus access policy in an attempt to silence opposition to our government and our university’s complicity in these crimes.
A University of Sydney spokesperson said protest organisers had been contacted because the speakout had not been planned in line with the university’s recently enacted campus access policy, which requires notice for all demonstrations.
Angus Dermody, from Students Against War said the policy had created a “bureaucratic nightmare” around notifying university management of upcoming protests. Two security guards shadowed the peaceful protest.
Read more about the controversial policy here:
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Two ADF aircraft sent to assist Australians stranded in Middle East
The federal government has deployed military assets as part of contingency planning to assist Australians stranded in the Middle East.
As the conflict sparked by American and Israeli strikes on Iran spreads around the region, the government is planning contingencies to help tens of thousands of Australian citizens and permanent residents.
While the government is urging Australians to take up commercial options to get home, Defence has launched Operation Beech, part of the consular effort to provide assistance.
A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster heavy transport aircraft and KC-30A multi-role tanker transport have been deployed today as a precautionary measure.
The government will not discuss further specifics like their destination for operational security reasons.
As many as 24,000 Australians are stuck in the United Arab Emirates alone. Some commercial flights to Australia have already started to resume.
The New Zealand government announced on Thursday it will send two defence force aircraft to repatriate its citizens from the region.
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Queensland LNP government to ‘transition’ state literary awards to ‘alternative provider’ amid pro-Palestine statements from artists
Queensland’s government is set to stop backing the state’s literary awards and “transition” them to an “alternative” provider.
Last year’s winner, Karen Wyld, was stripped of the award due to comments about Gaza by the state’s arts minister, John-Paul Langbroek. The entire awards ceremony was cancelled as a result.
Earlier that year Landgbroek cut funding to QMUsic’s Queensland Music Awards after it awarded a prize to jazz musician Kellee Green for an instrumental work called “from the river to the sea” – a pro-Palestine phrase which the state government is moving to ban.
Last May, Lanbroek commissioned former supreme court judge Martin Daubney to review the library’s policies in order to strike “a balance between the minister’s priorities and expectations and the proper statutory role of the state library of Queensland”.
Daubney made five recommendations for updated governance processes and a new venue policy for the library.
“The state library will action these recommendations and has also made the decision to transition the Queensland literary Awards to alternative providers,” Langbroek said. “It is also working with Creative Australia to transition [Indigenous writing fellowship] black&write! to an alternative provider.”
Langbroek said the government had “taken decisive action to make Queensland safer”. He said the review had highlighted the need for government-funded arts organisations to assess their risk policies “to ensure they are consistent with and meet the expectations of the Crisafulli government”.
Queensland’s last non-Labor premier, Campbell Newman, cut all funding to the state’s literary prize as one of his first acts.
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Turnbull says US will comply with international law ‘only when it suits it’
Speaking on Afternoon Briefing, the former PM Malcolm Turnbull has said the US will comply with international law “only when it suits it”.
Turnbull said Donald Trump had been “very honest” about international law only applying when he wanted it to, citing an interview with the New York Times in January where the president said he was constrained only by his “own morality”. Turnbull said:
Donald Trump is often accused of being a liar, but (on this) he is actually very honest. He was asked if international law applies, and he said no, it does not …
The other day he was asked, what is the worst thing that could happen with Iran? He said the worst thing is we go to all this trouble, assassinate the leader, change the regime and end up with someone who is exactly the same.
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Man hospitalised after reportedly being bitten by shark off Queensland coast
A man in his 50s has been airlifted to hospital after a reported shark bite off Lady Elliott island in Queensland.
The man is believed to be in a stable condition and was taken to Bundaberg hospital at 8.14am.
A spokesperson for Ambulance Queensland said the man sustained a deep laceration to his arm and superficial lacerations to his abdomen and hand.
Updated
Thank you all for joining me today, I’ll leave you with the wonderful Cait Kelly for the rest of the afternoon.
I’ll catch you back here next week for another (likely extremely busy) sitting week! Take care.
Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
The Coalition set their sights on the economy and living standards again today. The prime minister and treasurer hit back, and tried to corner Tim Wilson over his now-sold shares that bet against the share market.
Speaking of the shares, there was also some back and forth over when they were actually sold – which we found out was Monday.
The Coalition then pivoted to asking Anne Aly about grant funding for an Islamic community group that mourned the death of the Ayatollah. Aly said the process for that funding has been frozen.
Independent MP Zali Steggall brought up some “abhorrent claims” by Advance Australia and asked if the government would do anything about truth in political advertising laws (there was no commitment to them).
The Greens tried to push the government to put a 25% tax on Australian gas exports – the answer was no.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie asked the government when they would respond to a two and a half year gambling inquiry report and ban online gambling advertising. Again there was no commitment from the government.
Three Liberal MPs got the boot from the chamber today, meaning Tony Pasin has now been sent out two of four appearances at QT since his move to the frontbench.
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Greens say ‘decades of underfunding’ to blame for exodus from public schools
The Greens have blamed “decades of underfunding” for the flight from public schools, with new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showing the percentage of students in government schools has fallen to another record low.
The party’s spokesperson for primary and secondary education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said the failure for public schools to reach their full funding levels had left them “struggling to meet the increasingly complex needs of their students, while the richest private schools enjoy taxpayer-funded luxuries”.
Labor claims they’re fully funding public schools by 2034 but it’s a whopping great lie. There is no pathway to full funding. By 2034 every public school in the country, apart from the ACT, will still be below their so-called Gonski funding level.
Meanwhile, the federal government is pouring $20 billion into the private system in 2026, subsidising rich private schools who jack up their fees above inflation every year. If you want to know what the face of the inequality crisis looks like in Australia, this is it.
Updated
With a final dixer to Amanda Rishworth, question time is over for the week!
Work is ‘under way’ to address elder abuse, says attorney-general
Independent MP Rebekha Sharkie asks why the government has not had a national plan to address elder abuse since 2023 when “at least one in 6 older people report experiencing elder abuse and neglect”.
The attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, says elder abuse isn’t talked about enough and that work is being done to combat it.
She says a lot of responsibility lies with the states, and there has been collaboration between the states and commonwealth.
I assure the member that work on that is under way and I will be in a position to make announcements in the near future on how that is progressing.
We are now in a position where we understand the data much more fully, and that is a role that this Government and this portfolio has been fulfilling, and it is one that is informing our policy processes going forward.
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Rebello repeats question to Aly about Islamic organisation funding; Aly repeats answer
Liberal MP Leon Rebello is back and asks again if the minister for multicultural affairs has investigated all funding commitments made to organisations who have mourned the death of the ayatollah Ali Khameni?
Anne Aly says again that the funding of the group which the opposition asked about yesterday has been dealt with, with the active grant process stopped by the department.
I’m not quite sure how else I can articulate this other than to repeat that there is an expectation from this government that all organisations that receive funding conduct themselves under the expectations and within the expectations of Australian taxpayers.
The opposition tries to make a point of order, but Milton Dick again shuts it down.
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No timeline on response to online gambling inquiry
When will the government respond to the Murphy gambling inquiry and when will it legislate a ban on gambling advertising, asks independent MP, Andrew Wilkie.
It’s been more than two and a half years since the late Peta Murphy delivered a bipartisan report with more than 30 recommendations to tackle online gambling.
Communications and sports minister, Anika Wells, takes the call but doesn’t answer the question.
She says the government has “delivered the most significant online wagering harm reduction initiatives of the past decade, including launching BetStop and banning online use of credit cards for online betting.”
She says a review on BetStop released last week shows it “is a successful policy in delivering on the objectives.”
But the report also warned BetStop was too easy to bypass and failed data matches between the scheme and information held by betting companies were too common.
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Wilson’s shares were updated Monday
After a bit of back and fourth on Tim Wilson’s shares in question time today, we have some more clarity on the timing.
Despite Wilson’s register of interests showing that his shares were sold today, we’ve seen an evidence that shows Wilson’s shares were sold on Monday, and the update was submitted to the register on Monday.
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Aly questioned over ‘secret and public’ funding to Islamic organisations
Liberal MP Leon Rebello gets the next question and asks the minister for multicultural affairs, Anne Aly, whether the government has investigated all funding, “both secret and public” to Islamic organisations that have mourned the death of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
It follows questions yesterday about a government grant issued to a Melbourne organisation, the TAHA group, that was reportedly mourning the death of the ayatollah.
Aly says she takes issue with the insertion of “secret” in the question and that all grant decisions are public.
She says she has instructed her department to stop the active grant process for TAHA.
This government takes very seriously the fact that all public funding that goes to any organisation, whether they are cultural organisations or sporting organisations, we take very seriously the role that they play and ensuring that their activities are in line with the standards that Australian taxpayers expect.
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Greens pressure government to impose 25% export tax on gas companies
As corporate profiteering by big gas companies sky rockets, Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks the government if it will impost a 25% tax on gas exports, something that’s been advocated by the Australian council of trade unions.
The resources minister, Madeleine King, says that imposing new costs on the gas industry would “freeze” production and discourage investment in new supply.
She says gas is still essential for the net zero target.
In relation to putting more costs on to the gas industry, when they do pay a significant amount of tax into our system and I would also add they employ many, many Australians right around the country.
So the short answer is that the government probably won’t be doing that.
Watson-Brown tries to make a point of order but King has already sat down, having finished her answer.
Updated
Third Coalition MP gets booted
During a dixer to Clare O’Neil, Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey gets kicked out by Milton Dick for interjecting 15 times.
Coincidentally he sits right behind Tony Pasin – must be a loud corner!
Updated
PM flips living standards responsibility question back on Nats
Nationals MP David Batt gets the call next and again asks if the prime minister will accept responsibility for declining living standards. Batt says that demand for emergency relief is skyrocketing in his electorate of Hinkler in central Queensland.
The prime minister says he does accept responsibility for the policies of the government, including energy bill relief, cutting student debt, and free Tafe.
The opposition tries to make a point of order (on relevance again) but they’re not having much luck getting through Milton Dick who says that the opposition literally asked what the prime minister will take responsibility for, and the PM is telling the house what he does accept responsibility for.
Albanese continues:
But the truth is that the range of measures that we have put in place, including 1800 Medicare, the education measures … all of them are opposed by those opposite, who just want to tear each other down and talk Australia down.
Updated
Tony Pasin the second MP to be kicked out
Shadow frontbencher Melissa McIntosh gets the call next and asks the prime minister if he will accept responsibility “for the impact his decisions are having on lowering the living standards of Australians?” She cites two constituents, Brett and Russell who are both struggling to make ends meet in her electorate.
Anthony Albanese spends his entire answer telling McIntosh that she should tell Brett and Russell about the governments existing cost-of-living measures, like the tax cuts that come into effect on 1 July that the opposition opposed last year.
At the end of the answer, Liberal MP Tony Pasin gets yeeted out of the chamber under 94a for interjecting too much.
Pasin might end up being a regular to get booted out. So far he’s been kicked out twice out of four question times since he moved up to the shadow frontbench under Angus Taylor.
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When did Tim Wilson sell his shares?
The government is trying its darn best to hammer Tim Wilson on his shares – which he has now sold – that bet against the Australian share market.
But, when exactly were those shares sold?
Yesterday, Wilson offered an explanation to the house after question time saying that the shares had been sold Monday.
But Jim Chalmers says (and we have checked it too) that Wilson’s register of interests actually shows the shares were sold today.
All of this is during a dixer on the national accounts, so three times the opposition tries to make a point of order on relevance to stop Chalmers talking about the shares. Milton Dick doesn’t offer the Coalition much sympathy.
Chalmers continues:
To paraphrase Dennis Cometti, the shadow treasurer came into the week optimistically and he finishes the week misty optically.
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Labor turns up heat on Tim Wilson over share holdings during question time
The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, is back at the dispatch box and asks the treasurer if he will “still deny the link between government spending and driving inflation higher” because public demand grew faster than private demand in the December quarter.
Jim Chalmers says the key driver of public demand in the December quarter was defence spending which he says “those opposite have called for more of that, not less”.
Private demand grew faster and contributed three times more to economic growth than public demand in annual terms. Within a year, annual private demand more than tripled and public demand growth more than halved compared with 2024. Those are the facts of the matter.
Chalmers then tries to bring up Wilson’s shares that bet against the Australian share market (which he yesterday announced that he had sold off).
Dan Tehan makes a point of order which manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, laughs off saying, “What he just read out is not the standing order, I think he read it backwards.”
Chalmers tries again to knock Wilson on the shares, but he’s told by Milton Dick to conclude his answer “conclude his answer without going down that path”.
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Steggall calls for truth in political advertising laws
Independent MP Zali Steggall asks the prime minister if the government will “guardrail” against groups like Advance Australia with truth in political advertising laws, and ban the use of generative AI and deepfakes in political advertising.
She says Advance recently “platformed abhorrent claims that Angela Merkel’s politics did more damage to Germany than Adolf Hitler. Former prime minister Tony Abbott was in attendance and current sitting Liberal senators.”
Anthony Albanese says that Merkel deserves respect and that the world is seeing a rise of hard-right politics that “sometimes needs to be called out”.
Albanese says the issue could be considered by the committee on electoral matters.
We do need to always ensure that people have freedom of expression, including freedom of political expression.
The communications minister, Anika Wells, then adds to the answer about the government trying to bring forward a digital duty of care act to put the responsibility on big tech to prevent online harm.
Steggall says this isn’t relevant to her question, but she’s overruled by Milton Dick because her question mentioned AI.
Overall, there’s no commitment for truth in political advertising laws.
Updated
Tim Wilson gets the call next and asks the prime minister to confirm that the population, driven by migration, has increased by 1.9 million since 2022 while Labor has missed its housing target by tens of thousands.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says there have been less people arriving now than under the Coalition government.
On housing he says:
I can tell them what their housing figures there, their target was zero. They didn’t even have a housing minister.
The figures show, and I have been asked about them but they don’t want hear them, by 2030/31, Australia’s population is expected to be 754,000 smaller than what the former Coalition forecast prior to the pandemic.
Updated
It’s economy Thursday!
Like yesterday, the Coalition are going hard on the economy again today, but it appears the question doesn’t end with the buck stopping with Albanese.
Angus Taylor starts, and asks if the prime minister will confirm that since 2022 the only growth in the economy has been due to immigration.
Anthony Albanese starts by criticising the “blokes” of the Coalition for not saying anything when the gender pay gap reached a record low this week.
Pretty quickly, Dan Tehan gets up to make a point of order on relevance, which gets shut down as the speaker, Milton Dick, says the temperature in the chamber is already “too hot”.
Albanese continues:
The truth is that yesterday’s national accounts did show the economy was growing at its fastest rate in almost three years … Those opposite have been never more upset than when Australia is going forward … That is why the Shadow Treasurer even puts money on it.
At the end of the answer we have (already!) our first booting of the day. It’s Phil Thompson who gets kicked out of the chamber for interjecting seven times during Albanese’s answer, to which Dick says he won’t be tolerating a “wall of noise” today.
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Farrer byelection to be held Saturday 9 May
Following Sussan Ley’s resignation, the Speaker of the house, Milton Dick, has just announced the byelection for the seat of Farrer will be held on 9 May.
The nominations for the poll will close on 13 April.
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High school retention rates going up, but concerns remain for boys and Indigenous students
The number of high school finishers has increased for the second year in a row, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, meaning 12,000 more students finished year 12 in 2025 than 2024.
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the number of year 12 graduates was going backwards for six years, dropping from 84.8% in 2017 to 79.1% in 2023. But he says it’s turning around, and reached 81.3% last year.
This is good news and it’s happening across the board. Public schools, catholic schools and independent schools are all going up. The number of boys and girls finishing high school are both going up.
But the shadow education minister, Julian Leeser, says he’s particularly concerned about the gap between boys and girls retention rates, as well as the lower number of Indigenous students finishing school.
School retention rates now sit at 77.6% for boys, compared with 85.3% for girls.
Over the last 30 years we have made tremendous strides in the education of women and girls, and that is public policy triumph of which we should be enormously proud. This is not a zero-sum game, and the data we are seeing on boys’ education is compelling.
Meanwhile Indigenous student retention rates sit at 58.6%, which increased by 1.9% over the last year.
Leeser says, “There is a 22-point gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. That is massive.”
Updated
Greens vote for Labor’s super tax bill in the house
The Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown has just voted for the government’s super bill that doubles the concessional tax rate on superannuation balances between $3m and $10m, from 15% to 30%, and applies a 40% tax rate on earnings for balances larger than $10m.
The bill was watered down in October last year after the government couldn’t secure a deal with either the Coalition or the Greens. The re-jig included the indexation of the $3m threshold and a later start date of 1 July 2026.
But despite Watson-Brown’s support (which doesn’t actually make a tangible difference to the outcome of the vote, when Labor has a big majority) it doesn’t mean the Greens will pass the bill as is in the Senate.
The latest we have is that the Greens are still negotiating with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, so they might be announcing some amendments or demands, before it hits the upper house. We’ll keep you posted on that one.
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Coronial inquest into DV murder of Kelly Wilkinson hears from family
The coronial inquest into the DV murder of Kelly Wilkinson in 2021 has heard from her family on its final day.
Kelly’s sister, Danielle Carroll, read out a brief three-minute statement on behalf of the family this morning.
“Kelly was just 27 when she left us; so much life left to live with a bright future filled with peace, surrounded by sunsets. This was her only dream. She was a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother,” Danielle said, in court.
She was home for her three children, safe space, someone who loved them all unconditionally. Additionally, she made a pact with her son to protect each other through everything, something, you know, something that now weighs her son down, thinking that he should have done more to help her. He was eight that morning …
All that Kelly wanted from life was to love and be loved, and there are no words for the way she suffered in her last moments. There will never be any words to pass into her children to make them feel okay. A mother can never be replaced.
Danielle finished by saying the effect of Kelly’s murder on the family “has been immense”:
Losing someone to such a horrific murder is a different beast. It is unforgiving, where every milestone and achievements of their children, I stand with them and celebrate but it should be her. We will never stop missing Kelly, and that really hurts the most.
Deputy state coroner Stephanie Gallagher said she couldn’t “imagine the courage it took” to make the three-minute statement before briefly adjourning the court.
Thursday is the last day of the three-day coronial inquest, which heard just five witnesses, all police. It has been set aside for legal submissions.
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Flight from Dubai to Sydney en route
We’ll give you a quick flight update, after yesterday’s flight from Dubai to Sydney arrived safely last night carrying more than 230 Australians, a second flight is now en route.
The flight appears to be travelling through the Indian Ocean just south of India at the moment, and is due to arrive in Sydney at about 10:45pm tonight.
There are two other flights that are scheduled to depart today from Australia, one from Dubai to Melbourne, and the other from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. Both will depart later this afternoon and into the evening.
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Pro-Palestine group compares NSW premier to ‘Red Scare’ US senator Joseph McCarthy
The Palestine Action Group has shared a statement with Guardian Australia after the NSW premier, Chris Minns, characterised the group to a budget estimates hearing as “a pack of communists ... intent on confrontation with the police”.
The statement, which compares the premier to Cold War-era US senator Joseph McCarthy, who led a campaign against suspected communists in a period known as the “Red Scare”, says:
It seems Chris Minns has completed his transformation into Senator Joe McCarthy, trampling on democratic rights and criminalising dissent with Cold War tactics. He already tries to censor authors and academics, and plans to ban phrases critical of Israel, next he will be blacklisting books and movies which oppose genocide.
Minns is desperate to justify the police violence he unleashed against peaceful protesters who opposed the visit of genocide-inciting president Isaac Herzog ... It is the police who attacked protesters and worshippers on 9 February, not the other way around, which is confirmed by the mountain of video and eyewitness evidence. Minns must come clean, apologise and resign for unleashing this shocking police brutality.
The Law Enforce Conduct Commission (Lecc) will investigate reports of alleged police brutality during the protest against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, last month after receiving “a significant number of complaints”. Minns and the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, have defended the police response.
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Allegra Spender calls for 50% tax on windfall Iran ‘war profits’
The government should slap a 50% tax on the windfall “war profits” earned by Australia’s major energy exporters, independent MP Allegra Spender says.
Oil and gas prices have jumped since the start of hostilities at the weekend, triggering fears of renewed cost-of-living pressures as they feed through to higher petrol bills and inflation more broadly.
But while households are hurt, a spike in global energy prices translates to booming profits for some businesses. Spender said:
The supernormal profits made by a few companies during this time is not a reward for effort or ingenuity, or a driver of investment, it is the windfall from war.
Woodside’s profit, for example, more than tripled in 2022 following the war in Ukraine.
I’m proposing an immediate tax of at least 50% which would only apply to the extra, supernormal revenue that companies receive because of the war driven price spikes.
The teal MP said the extra one-off tax revenue should be used to pay down debt.
Amid a steep regional sell-off, the Australian sharemarket is down 2.8% over the past five trading days. In contrast, over the same period the share prices of oil and gas firms Santos and Woodside have jumped by 6.1% and 7.2%, respectively.
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Australia and Canada announce vaccine manufacturing partnership in event of another pandemic
Australia and Canada just announced a new vaccine manufacturing partnership in the event of another pandemic.
The deal will see Australian vaccine maker CSL Seqirus support Canada’s influenza pandemic preparedness through a guaranteed supply of 15m doses of advanced, cell-based vaccines that will help protect Canadians should the World Health Organisation declare one.
A new Melbourne facility will be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere and will be able to make more than 150m vaccines in the first wave of manufacturing during a declared pandemic, if needed.
The site, near Melbourne airport, will support a supply chain worth $300m annually to the Australian economy. Marjorie Michel, Canada’s minister of health, said in a statement:
This renewed contract with CSL Seqirus strengthens Canada’s ability to respond quickly to a potential future flu pandemic. By securing access to 15m doses of flu vaccine if a pandemic is declared by the WHO, we are reinforcing our commitment to protecting health and being prepared and ready to act in the face of emerging public health threats.
CSL Seqirus is a pandemic preparedness partner to more than 30 governments worldwide, and has made vaccines for five pandemics in Australia.
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Carney challenged on whether he should have immediately called for de-escalation
The final question goes to a Canadian journalist who asks why Carney did not immediately call for de-escalation when he first responded to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Carney said that even in the early hours after the strikes, it was clear the objectives of the US and Israel to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons could not be achieved immediately.
The journalist pushes back, asking if Carney spoke too quickly and if he should have given a more considered response.
Carney says no, and that just because other European nations might have immediately called for de-escalation, Canada is a “sovereign nation” that makes its own decisions.
No, it was essential for us to highlight the nature of threat, of the grave threat that emanates from Iran in terms of efforts to prevent nuclear export weapons and export of extremism and terrorism.
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Five Eyes alliance continues to function very well, Carney says
Next, the Guardian’s own Tom McIlroy asks Carney whether the Five Eyes alliance needs modernising in the face of his skepticism of the US and old world institutions.
No is the short answer:
I would say that many things, there are many challenges, but there are many things that continue to function very well, and the Five Eyes would be top of that list.
Carney is then asked if he still trusts the United States president, Donald Trump, given his decisions to impose tariffs.
Carney says the protocols under the historic free trade agreement between the US and Canada have not been followed.
That agreement effectively has been broken in the short term by US actions. That’s a fact that would be acknowledged, I think, by all sides.
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Carney won’t rule out participation in military action but makes distinction between offence and defence
Another question from a Canadian journalist, who asks whether Carney will rule out Canada participating in US military action in Iran if the conflict continues to spread.
Carney says it can’t be ruled out and that Canada will stand by its allies, and always defend Canadians.
One can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies, but it makes sense there’s a distinction between the offensive actions that were taken and are being taken by the United States and Israel, that were taken by them without consultation with Canada, with other allies, and we’re not party to those actions, but we will always defend Canadians. We will always stand by and defend our allies when called.
Albanese does not provide an answer to the question.
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Canada ‘aspires’ for a ceasefire in Iran, Carney says, but attacks on civilians must stop first
Will the leaders call for a ceasefire, asks a Canadian journalist? Today’s press conference only allows three questions from Australian journalists and three from Canadian journalists travelling with Carney.
Both leaders say that before a ceasefire can occur, attacks on civilians and on civil infrastructure have to stop.
Carney says that the government “aspires” for a ceasefire but that it’s not yet the time for it.
To see a situation where all the parties in this conflict must recognise the necessity to avoid attacks on civilians and on civil infrastructure, that is not given this stage.
Albanese gives a similar answer and adds that there needs to be a “de-escalation of hostilities. Right now we have a spreading of hostilities.”
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Carney and Albanese questioned on escalation of Iran war
Onto questions, the ABC’s Stephen Dziedzic asks the leaders how concerned they are about the escalation of war, and whether they’re concerned about the actions of the US navy, after Carney called for a deescalation of conflict.
Albanese says the world wants to see a de-escalation, for Iran to stop its attacks over an increasing number of countries.
But he says that Australia wants to see the “objectives” of the strikes by the US and Israel achieved.
We’re seeing Gulf states that have not been involved attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. We also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all. And I also want to see a removal of the ongoing threat that has been there for such a long period of time of Iran endangering peace and security and stability, not just in its own region but here in Australia.
Carney says he associates himself with Albanese’s remarks, and points to the brutality of the Iranian regime, which has killed “scores of Canadians”.
The Canadian PM says he wants to see de-escalation but also says that has to come after those outcomes are achieved.
We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerence involved. We recognise, we stress, that cannot be achieved unless we’re in a position that Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes.
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Albanese jokes that he looks forward to hosting Carney at The Lodge, and to look out for his dog, Toto, who “will hunt down who the weakest is in your pack to beg for food. I assure you she is not starving.”
Carney responds that he too, after 48 hours in Australia, is also very much not starving, cue some diplomatic chuckles.
More seriously, Carney restates the cooperation and friendship between the two nations.
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Albanese and Carney hold joint press conference
Fresh off his address to parliament, Carney joins Anthony Albanese for a press conference.
Albanese says the two countries have agreed to deepen ties on critical minerals, defence and security and AI.
Albanese points to:
Pursuing common positions on key critical minerals issues, increasing alignment between Australia’s critical mineral strategic reserve and Canada’s defence stockpiling regime, working together to shape emerging markets, as well as Australia joining Canada’s G7 critical minerals production alliance.
He also announces a new annual emergency ministers meeting to boost cooperation on natural disasters.
During his address Carney earlier paid tribute to Australian firefighters who flew to Canada to help with wildfires in Alberta.
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Victorian minister says 140 labour hire companies issued notice to cancel licences
The Victorian transport infrastructure minister, Gabrielle Williams, says 140 labour hire companies have been issued notices to cancel their licences.
Speaking outside parliament this morning, she confirmed Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority had issued a notice to an M Group subsidiary on Wednesday, flagging its intention to cancel the firm’s labour hire licence:
That sets in train a process and if that final determination is upheld, M Group will be walked off any sites that they’re on. I’m advised that they are currently have a presence on the North East Link project. Obviously, the notification that was issued yesterday is a very meaningful step, and with a final determination come in, which may well change the presence of M Group on that site.
M Group was named in a report by corruption fighter Geoffrey Watson, tabled in the Queensland royal commission inquiry into the CFMEU. The report said gangland figure Mick Gatto owned several companies within the M Group and that it received favourable treatment from the construction union:
Gatto, of course, denies he owns the M Group companies, but that is transparently false. The attempts to conceal Gatto’s involvement are crude.
The report described Gatto as a “malignant influence” on the CFMEU for decades.
Earlier on Wednesday, another M Group company had its Gold Coast-based operation called out by the Queensland royal commission.
Williams denied that the Queensland inquiry influenced the Victorian Labour Hire Authority’s actions:
Let’s be clear, the Labour Hire Authority has been squirreling away across a number of investigations, and we’ve seen in recent days and weeks that bear fruit with the cancellation of now, I believe, over 140 licences .. the issuing of that notice yesterday was a part of a broader investigation that’s been taking place over many months.
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Privacy commissioner won’t appeal Bunnings facial recognition ruling
Last month, the administrative review tribunal gave Bunnings the green light to use facial recognition technology to detect previously banned people entering its stores, overturning a decision of the privacy commissioner.
The privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, confirmed today that she had not appealed the ruling (before the time to appeal expired), but said it’s not a green light for every other business to rush out the technology.
She said retailers have expressed a desire to deploy this technology, and had sought more certainty on how the Privacy Act operates with this emerging technology.
Kind said the ART decision provides clarity:
The tribunal’s decision shows that Australian privacy law allows for the balancing of competing interests – the individual and public interests in privacy, on the one hand, and the need to protect public safety and address unlawful activity on the other.
Specific updates to existing guidance will be made to reflect the tribunal’s decision and ensure that retailers have up-to-date information about our regulatory application of the law.
She said there will still be a “high bar” for using facial recognition technology in Australia, and companies will need to undertake a detailed risk assessment before deploying it:
Retailers should view the decision as a useful case study, rather than a green light for deployment of biometric technologies.
Minns tells budget estimates hearing pro-Palestine protests ‘organised by a pack of communists’
Returning to NSW budget estimates, the premier, Chris Minns, has lashed out at the organisers of a protest against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, which saw multiple protesters charged, and following which alleged police brutality is being investigated by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc).
Upper house Labor members Sarah Kaine and Stephen Lawrence, among government MPs who attended the protest last month, as well as a pro-Palestine march on the Harbour Bridge last year, are on the estimates committee responsible for the premier’s portfolio but have been absent from today’s hearing. Lawrence has said conflict with police at the Herzog protest was “almost inevitable” following protest laws enacted by the government.
Asked what advice was given to Labor MPs about attending rallies, Minns said at the committee hearing this morning he does not know whether advice was issued, but said members who attended the protest against Herzog had followed the law.
I’ve sort of grappled with this a lot over the last three years or two and a bit years. In my view, a lot of the protests that have taken place – I assume you’re referring to the Palestinian Action Group protests – a lot of those protests have resulted in violent behavior, terrorist symbols, hate speech on Sydney streets.
But I also believe, I genuinely believe, that a lot of people have attended those marches with none of those intentions in place, that they’ve tried to exercise their democratic right to freedom of speech and expression, and they’re concerned about the circumstances relating to civilians in Gaza … They’re not part of the Palestinian Action Group leadership. My dilemma is that those protests are organised by a pack of communists … intent on having a confrontation with police.
The Palestine Action Group has been contacted for comment.
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We must build sovereign AI capability, Carney says
Continuing his address, Carney says AI is transforming economies and our lives and it will be crucial to develop sovereign AI and intelligence infrastructure.
He says Australia and Canada can work together on this, as Canada also partners with like-minded nations in Europe, and has a trilateral AI initiative with India.
Strategic autonomy will require sovereign intelligence infrastructure, including secure clouds data, LLM models, enterprise applications. Canada can contribute here as well … We know we must work with others who share our values to build sovereign AI capabilities so we are not caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.
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World can be shaped by middle powers, Carney says
Carney has been heralded for his speech about the rupture in the world order, which he made at Davos in Switzerland earlier this year.
He tells the parliament that middle powers can shape the world when they trust each other and that Australia and Canada are right to build up their defence and strategic capabilities, as well as sovereign AI.
He says Canada is building a “dense web of connections to build our resilience”, and that this is not a retreat from multilateralism but an “evolution of it”.
Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power, because others know we mean what we say, and we will match our values with our actions. This has been earned by those before us, throughout our history, and the question is now what do we do with it.
The world will always be shaped by great powers. But it can also be shaped by middle powers that trust each other enough to act with speed and purpose.
We need coalitions now to address immediate challenges, and as those coalitions work, they will help demonstrate the power of multilateralism and reinvigorate it.
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In pictures: Mark Carney addresses the parliament
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Australia and Canada are ‘strategic cousins’, not competitors, Carney says
Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, says Australia and Canada will be stronger negotiating with major powers together, acting as “strategic cousins” rather than competitors.
Carney is addressing the parliament, and begins by acknowledging the firefighters in the chamber who battled wildfires in his home state of Alberta in Canada last year, and says it’s one of many testaments to the “profound friendship” of the two countries.
Carney calls for greater cooperation on critical minerals, defence and trade and announces Australia would join the G7 critical minerals alliance.
With that global architecture now breaking down from consecutive crises, I have come to Australia to reaffirm our alliance and to suggest where we can go next. Because it is my fundamental belief – the result of an optimism I may have picked up from this great country – that from this rupture we can build something better, more prosperous, more resilient, more just …
In the old world, and even to a degree today, the temptation has been to see ourselves as competitors. In this new world, we should be strategic collaborators.
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Carney a man of the ‘highest calibre’, Taylor says
Following Albanese, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, makes his remarks ahead of Carney’s address.
Taylor reflects on meeting Carney at Oxford University in 1991, both studying economics.
In politics, one of life’s great joys is seeing old friends do well. So it gives me immense joy to see Canada led by an old friend, a man of the highest calibre, utterly devoted to his country.
Taylor says Carney’s speech to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland was a “much needed wake-up call for middle powers”.
The rules based international order has been exposed as wishful thinking of a bygone and benign era, especially in these times when autocratic regimes act with impunity. And I wholeheartedly agree with you, in this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls in a retreat behind them, we must work together, we must work together, closer than ever on defence on secure supply chains and sovereign capabilities, on maintaining free trade.
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‘Australia and Canada must seek and create new ways to stand with and for each other,’ Albanese says
Anthony Albanese quotes former wartime Labor prime minister John Curtin, who said that “where none of us is strong enough to stand alone, we shall discover how and by what means we can best stand with and for each other”.
He says government is not a “passive institution” but an instrument for positive change.
As Mark Carney will soon speak on the importance of strengthening the middle powers, Albanese also says “peace, security and prosperity are not the preserve of the great powers alone. They are our common cause and our collective responsibility.”
Technology is changing the nature of conflict and heightening the risk and cost of escalation. And if ever nations such as ours had the luxury of imagining that distance alone kept us safe, those days are certainly gone.
The same Iranian regime launching indiscriminate attacks on nations across the Middle East orchestrated antisemitic terrorist attacks on a synagogue and a small business here in Australia, in 2024.
For us, as two democracies in an age of polarisation, as two dynamic trading nations in a time of disrupted supply chains, and as two middle powers in an era of strategic competition, Australia and Canada must seek and create new ways to stand with and for each other.
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Mark Carney to address parliament
It’s a rare moment when we get a foreign leader addressing the parliament, but Mark Carney is about to begin his address.
He’s addressing both houses, so the chamber is very full to say the least, with both MPs and senators!
Carney will be calling for greater strategic cooperation and the strengthening of middle powers like Canada and Australia.
Before he begins, Anthony Albanese welcomes Carney, who he calls “his friend”.
In 1854 it was a Canadian, Henry Ross, who stood in the centre of the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat and raised a new flag, the iconic Southern Cross, a symbol of the miners’ struggle for justice. In other words, prime minister, Canadian rebels with bold ideas have always been welcome here in Australia.
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NSW considers road testing changes for medicinal cannabis users
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says the state government will draft legislation for changes to roadside drug testing for medicinal cannabis users, a recommendation of its 2024 drug summit, following accusations it had “squibbed” the opportunity for major drug reform.
In October last year, the state government was accused of ignoring its own summit’s advice after announcing it would continue the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches at music festivals. It supported 36 out of 56 recommendations and 15 others in principle.
It said it would “investigate” a medical defence for people who use medically prescribed cannabis and drive, establishing a working group, after the summit recommended reform.
Asked at budget estimates today if the government would support a private member’s bill which proposes to make it lawful for a person identified as having cannabis in their system to drive if they have a medicinal prescription and are not behaving in a drug-affected manner, Minns says it will not, but that it is considering changes.
I think the latest information I had is there were a million [medicinal cannabis] prescriptions in NSW … My understanding is the former premier of NSW Mike Baird was a big driver of accessing medicinal cannabis. But as a result of those changes, we’re seeing hundreds of thousands of people accessing it as a legitimate health alternative to even more powerful drugs, and we think we need a fit-for-purpose regime on New South Wales roads so that we’re not disenfranchising people, particularly in regional communities, from driving …
We will draft our own legislation, but we’re actively considering a change in the policy.
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Victorian AG seeks advice to curb use of suppression orders after letter from media companies
The Victorian attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, has confirmed she is seeking advice to change the laws that allow the issuing of suppression orders for high-profile defendants.
Senior representatives from the Guardian, the Age, the Australian, Herald Sun, the ABC, the Australian Financial Review and the three commercial television networks wrote to her last night warning that defendants were increasingly using “mental health grounds” as a “tactic to obtain suppression orders in circumstances where no such order should be made”. They said open court principles were being “undermined” in Victoria as a result.
Speaking outside parliament on Thursday, Kilkenny confirmed she was “seeking advice” on amending the Open Courts Act. She said the advice would not be confined to the mental health provisions in the act.
I know one of the issues that has been raised [is] mental health [grounds] and whether that has been perhaps abused and expanded when we are looking at stated purposes to protect the safety of any person. I don’t want to say I’ll confine myself to that, but I’ll be seeking advice on options that might be available.
Kilkenny said the community expected a justice system that respects victims:
I acknowledge that the mental health needs of offenders and perpetrators are important, but I think it’s also important that we take into account the mental health needs of victims. We’ve heard from victims that the balance may not be right, that suppression orders are making them feel that their voices are not being heard … [suppression orders] should be rare, and they should be really targeted, and that here in Victoria, we have a presumption in favour of open justice.
A Monash University report published by the Melbourne Press Club earlier this week found Victoria accounts for almost half of all suppression orders in Australia - despite having only a third of the national population.
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Mark Carney watch: the Canadian PM sits down with Albanese
Ahead of his address to the Australian parliament this morning, Mark Carney, Anthony Albanese, cabinet ministers and advisers have sat down for a meeting in the cabinet room.
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Opposition fails to get up bill to stop people helping Australian women and children get home from Syrian detention camp
There’s some more shenanigans happening in the Senate now that the FOI amendment bill has been officially dumped.
Because of the time taken to debate that motion, the government moves to stop the Senate discussing private senators’ bills today – which is agreed to.
BUT then the Coalition moves a suspension of standing orders to bring on debate on its “keeping Australians safe” bill that would criminalise people helping Australian women and children in a Syrian detention camp from getting home.
Tony Burke had a field day on Monday criticising the bill, which he said would throw in jail the baggage handlers and pilots on any plane the cohort returned on, and called it “one of the shoddiest pieces of legislation” anyone has tried to introduce to parliament.
Shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, says:
It’s an issue that’s been around for weeks. Australians are seeking answers, Australians are seeking assurances from the government around the protection of our borders and our national security, but the government are not going to play ball.
Without the support of the Greens they can’t get it through.
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FoI bill dumped from Senate
It’s official, the government’s controversial freedom of information amendment bill has been dumped. Because everyone was in favour of dumping it, the motion didn’t even go to a vote.
Before it was dropped, a few more senators got to have a go at the government, including Greens senator David Shoebridge who said Labor took long to “read the room”.
It’s going to go into the dustbin that it should never have been pulled out of in the first place.
And independent senator, David Pocock said:
This is an example of the Senate doing its job to be a check on executive power, which is seeking to protect itself, to reduce scrutiny.
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ASX expected to reverse losses amid reports of Iran talks
Australian shares are set to reverse some of yesterday’s steep losses after investors reacted positively to overnight reports that Iranian authorities are seeking to restart negotiations with the US.
Futures pricing indicates the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 will open about 1% higher this morning to the 8,950 point mark, erasing about half of yesterday’s losses.
Global share markets have been hit by inflation fears sparked by the Middle East conflict, linked to energy market disruptions. Increased oil costs contribute to inflation by driving up costs across nearly all goods and services in the economy.
While Donald Trump said he rejected an approach from Tehran, and Iran’s ambassador to the UN denied there had been an approach, investors viewed the reports positively.
The S&P 500 was up 0.88% overnight, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.45%.
National Australia Bank’s market research team says reports of Iran seeking back-channels to negotiate an end to the war help support risk sentiment.
Dealing manager Paco Chow, from trading platform Moomoo, says the outlook will remain cautious until oil flows return to normal, given “geopolitical risk can flare up again very quickly”.
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FOI amendment is dead, long live transparency, says transparency warrior
Safe to say there’s plenty of positive reaction to the government moving to dump its controversial FOI bill, with former senator, Rex Patrick, calling it a “victory for civil society”.
Patrick, a self described freedom warrior, and founder of the Whistleblower Justice Fund, says there should now be an independent process to modernise the FOI system.
This is a victory for civil society, which has worked collectively to ensure this bill – which would have dramatically eroded transparency in Australia – did not become law. The FOI Amendment Bill is dead. Long live transparency.
Now is the time for real reform - through an independent process.
Kieran Pender, from the Human Rights Law Centre said the freedom of information system “underpins the public’s right to know’.
This Bill would have undermined the public’s right to access government information, weakened the FOI system, and in turn weakened our democracy.
‘What do you have to hide?’: Payman
Cash continues to dig into the government, accusing the government trying to seek to “entrench secrecy” and to price the Australian public out of accessing information.
She again says the Coalition agrees the system needs to be modernised:
We fundamentally believe FOI is a democratic right, you have the right to access fovt information, we will support modernisation of the system to make it easier but the Coalition will never support the Albanese government silencing Australians.
Former Labor turned independent senator, Fatima Payman, takes her turn to criticise the government.
She says this is the second bill the government has had to discharge of its own accord. Late last year the government discharged a bill that would change the way defence honours were given – which faced serious backlash.
Payman also says the system needs to be modernised but this approach wasn’t the way to do it.
The government refused to listen to the Australian public, we value democracy, we value transparency.
What do you have to hide that you’re so adamant on making it harder for people to gain access to information from your government?
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Cash celebrates ‘win for democracy’ after government FoI backdown
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, is relishing in the government’s backdown and calls it a “win for democracy”.
She says the opposition and crossbench worked together to stop Labor bringing a bill to “silence” the public, and sure the public held the democratic right to access information held by the government.
She says despite the government’s prior claims that it would be a transparent government, they’re “closing the door on democracy”.
What a in for democracy, what a win for transparency, but more than that what a win for Australian people … the bill was going to silence Australians, what a disgrace.
Every single day in this chamber, whether it’s this place or the other place what we see is the erosion of democracy, what we see. forget transparency, they are closing the door every chance to get.
Cash has said the opposition agrees that the FoI system does need to be modernised – but says the real problems are “delays, backlogs and bad faith behaviour”.
Katy Gallagher – who said the government would bring new reforms back to the parliament – says FoI requests cost departments and agencies nearly $100m in 2024-25, and departments spent nearly 1 million hours processing requests over the same period.
Earlier she said:
The government does have a responsibility to act and ensure the safety of staff across the APS, this is not a joke, this is people who are having their home addresses identified who are having widespread threats against their safety and their family’s safety because of the way the system is currently being worked and currently being abused.
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Government moves to discharge FoI bill from the Senate
Now this is a backdown and a half – after failing to get support from the opposition or the Greens, the government is removing their controversial FoI bill from the Senate, meaning it be dumped.
For a recap of what the FoI amendment bill was – see here:
Katy Gallagher, manager of government business in the Senate says:
The government is taking this step because we understand it does not have the support of the Senate and it would not pass the Senate in its current form
As she speaks we can hear someone from the opposition benches shouting “well done”.
Gallagher says the government is still committed to reforming the system, and will bring back new legislation.
We have an open mind and we’ll continue to engage on the final form on the important reforms that we will bring back to the parliament to get on with fixing the FoI system that I think we all agree needs updating.
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Six Australian crisis teams depart to Middle East
Six teams have been deployed to the Middle East to help with the mammoth consular effort, to get tens of thousands of Australians home.
This morning, Penny Wong said she was “deeply concerned” about the spread of conflict in the region with Iran engaging in attacks against 11 countries, including Turkey – a NATO country – overnight.
There are currently around 24,000 Australians in the UAE and 115,000 in the region. While not all will be registering with the government to return to Australia, Wong has said this is a “consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people.”
In pictures: Mark Carney welcomed at parliament
The Canadian prime minister will address the parliament a little later this morning before fronting up to journalists for a press conference alongside Anthony Albanese.
Here’s a few shots from the front of Parliament House:
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Mark Carney arrives at Parliament House
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has arrived at Parliament House and is meeting with Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon.
For those who are perhaps around Canberra today, you might have heard some cannons going off – here’s why.
The PM hosts a ceremonial welcome for a head of government at parliament which includes:
ADF half guard of honour (50 military persons)
National anthems.
19 gun salute.
Official welcoming party.
We’ve just heard the cannons, and now we’re hearing the anthems. We’ll bring you some pictures from the front of parliament as they come in.
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Wong lashes opposition over claims consular staff given a ‘heads up’ to leave Middle East
Penny Wong has fought back against the opposition over claims of double standards, that Australian consular and diplomatic staff were given a heads up to come home before the Australian public in the region.
Wong accused the Coalition of “playing politics” on the issue and said the Australian government has a strict no double standards policy.
It’s so disappointing when people are so stressed that the opposition, instead of backing in what needs to be done, chooses to play politics and to say things which are just untrue. We have a no double standards policy. That means that when people are directed to leave, that is made public, and it was – end of story.
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, backed in the criticism this morning, telling Sky News the government had been “flat footed”.
I think that the government did not use all the levers available to warn Australians. They did not use the megaphone available to the prime minister and the foreign minister, and they obviously knew there was risk, because they were evacuating family members of Dfat personnel on Friday.
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Chalmers promises ‘ambitious’ fifth budget
Staying on RN Breakfast, Chalmers says the economy is “well placed” to absorb international shocks as the war in the Middle East escalates.
Chalmers says yesterday’s national accounts numbers show the “strongest growth in almost three years, stronger growth than every major advanced economy”, which he says creates a strong foundation for any global uncertainty.
On the budget, which is due to be delivered in just over two months, host Sally Sara asks whether the uncertainty will curb some of the government’s ambition around tax reform and spending cuts. Chalmers says:
It’ll be an ambitious budget regardless, but it will be very attuned to developments in the world, as you would expect. We’ve got these three big challenges, inflation, productivity and global economic uncertainty. The fifth budget will be an ambitious budget.
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Old certainties in the world ‘breaking down and busting up’, Chalmers says
What is the role of middle powers in a global conflict?
As my colleague Ben Doherty brought you a little earlier, it’s a question the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has been pondering as he builds middle power cooperation on his trip to Australia.
Jim Chalmers, a fan of Carney, spoke to ABC RN Breakfast a little earlier this morning and was asked the question – does the role of middle powers ensure military action that’s taken is legal?
Chalmers says the role “goes much beyond and much broader than that” and says it’s all about cooperation.
When it comes to the ways that a lot of the old certainties in the world and in the global economy are breaking down and busting up, Prime Minister Carney is coming at these issues in a characteristically thoughtful and considered way. For Australia, we believe that the best way to advance our national interest is to engage in enthusiastically with Canadian friends and other middle powers, but also with the major powers. We believe in cooperation and in engagement.
The question itself to Chalmers is interesting, because the Australian government has so far refused to weigh in on the question of whether the strikes by the US and Israel were legal, whereas Carney yesterday said that the action “would appear, prima facie … to be inconsistent with international law”.
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More details on the three flights due to fly to Australia today
There are three flights scheduled to depart the United Arab Emirates today – two which would arrive in Sydney and one to Melbourne.
The first flight – which is scheduled for Sydney – will depart from Dubai at 2am, local time, about an hour from now.
The other two flights – one from Dubai to Melbourne and the second from Abu Dhabi to Sydney will depart later this afternoon.
Penny Wong said more than 230 Australians arrived home on yesterday’s flight from Dubai to Sydney, and maintains that Australians should aim to come home via a commercial plane. But she said the government has been working on contingency plans.
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Liberal senator says military assets should be used ‘if necessary’ to repatriate Australians
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, says the Middle East is a “challenging” environment for commercial airlines to fly in, with airports in the region being struck by Iran.
Talking to Sky News, Paterson says “every other option” needs to be considered if commercial flights can’t get Australians out of the region.
If those commercial options are not available, then every other option needs to be considered, including using ADF assets to repatriate Australians if that’s necessary.
We have used military planes to evacuate Australians from conflict zones. And if that’s necessary in this instance, if it’s possible in this instance, then obviously the government will have our bipartisan support.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, this morning confirmed that another three flights from the Middle East to Australia have been scheduled, but that in a volatile environment, there’s no guarantee they will fly.
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US-Israel attack on Iran ‘another example of the failure of the international order’, Carney says
The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has softened his support for US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying while he welcomes end of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime – “the principal source of instability and terror in the region” – he does not believe the attacks on Iran were legal, and they represent “another example of the failure of the international order”.
Carney is visiting Australia – partly on a trade mission, but also to help build cooperation between so-called middle powers. Carney has spoken previously about “variable geometry” – the building of a variety of international coalitions to address specific issues.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Carney’s position on the strikes on Iran was tempered from his initial forthright support.
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said on Saturday.
On Wednesday night in Sydney, he said the Iranian regime and its proxies had murdered hundreds of Canadians over years, and “caused untold suffering for millions of people in the Middle East and beyond”.
He said Canada stood with the people of Iran in their struggle against the regime’s oppression and “supported the imperative of neutralising this grave global threat”.
But we also take this position with some regret, because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order, despite decades of UN security council resolutions, the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, Iran’s nuclear threat remains, and now United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies, including Canada.
The question is: where to from here? Given we have a rapidly spreading conflict and growing threats to civilian life across the region, Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents.
Carney said the US and Israeli strikes appeared to be unlawful, in that they were not made with security council support, or in the face of imminent threat.
The action that was taken, we weren’t consulted on it. There was not a process, a broader process for it. It would appear, prima facie … to be inconsistent with international law.
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Middle East war will put additional pressure on economy, says treasurer
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is also doing the media rounds this morning, as he faces questions on how the conflict in the Middle East will impact the budget due to be handed down in just over two months.
Chalmers had a pretty decent day yesterday off the back of some positive national accounts figures that showed Australia’s economic growth accelerated at the end of 2025.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, Chalmers says the economy has already been under pressure from global uncertainty and rising inflation.
There are swings and roundabouts when we think about the implications for the budget in May.
When it comes to price pressures and when it comes to global economic uncertainty, what we’re seeing in the Middle East, will put additional pressure on the economy, on Australians, and it will be a big feature of our thinking as we put the government’s fifth budget together.
On petrol prices, Chalmers says that some price rises seen already could be part of the ordinary fuel cycle but adds that, “there are legitimate concerns, about, the potential, for some opportunistic pricing”. He’s tasked the consumer watchdog to monitor for any price gouging.
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Wong ‘deeply concerned’ conflict in Middle East is spreading
Wong says she’s very concerned the conflict is spreading “rapidly” as Iran engaged in strikes on Turkey overnight – a Nato member.
Turkey is the 11th country Iran has sought to strike.
I don’t think we anticipated, or any country might have anticipated, that Iran would respond in in the way that it has. It has, within the first 72 hours, struck many non-participant countries. It engaged in strikes on airport hubs. So this conflict has spread very rapidly, and the conflict is much more intense.
So we are deeply concerned about this conflict spreading.
Wong says the conflict is “unpredictable” and Australians with travel plans in upcoming months will need to “think very carefully” about their travel plans.
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Three flights scheduled from Middle East to Australia today
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has welcomed the first flight from Dubai to Sydney carrying more than 230 Australians returning yesterday, and has announced another three flights are scheduled to return today.
Speaking to journalists this morning, Wong said there’s much more to do to get Australians home. She said yesterday that six teams have been deployed to the region to assist Australians.
There are currently around 24,000 Australians in the United Arab Emirates and 115,000 more broadly across the Middle East. Wong said she doesn’t yet have the firm numbers of how many people want to return home, but that Australians are rapidly registering with the government.
We have three flights that are currently scheduled today for departure for Australia from the UAE. Obviously, those are subject to confirmation that it is safe and secure to leave. Changes could happen until the last moment, but I hope that those flights are also able to depart safely.
We have had a lot of registrations, and that is a good thing … We are working through that registration process to determine eligibility and also people’s relative needs.
Updated
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you this morning, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s going to be another busy day in Parliament House today. Penny Wong is doing the media rounds this morning as the first flight from Dubai to Australia returns and another three flights are scheduled for today.
And do you taste maple syrup in the air? Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister is in Canberra today. He’s due to deliver a speech to parliament and host a press conference with Anthony Albanese.
We’ll bring you all this and much more, as it happens. Let’s get straight into it!
Updated
More from AAP on the people arriving back from the Middle East last night.
Mining executive Troy Barker landed in Dubai only for a day and was at a popular horse race on Saturday, where the Emirati ruler was also in attendance, when he saw drones and missiles across the city’s skyline.
“I saw a couple of missiles but I’ve worked in Africa for 20 years so I’ve seen many things,” he said.
He praised communications from Emirates airlines and the authorities on the ground, saying he was lucky to be home.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, earlier said she was pleased the first plane carrying Australians from Dubai to Sydney was on its way, as more than 115,000 Australians remain stranded in the region.
“We know this is a very difficult time. We are conscious of how distressed many people are,” she told reporters in Canberra.
Updated
New inquiry into racism towards Indigenous Australians announced
The federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has announced there will be a parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people.
McCarthy said it comes at an important time, after the alleged terror attack at Perth’s Invasion Day rally on 26 January, and the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne last year by white supremacists.
She said it also coincided with a reported increase in racism against First Nations Australians, especially online.
The inquiry, conducted by the joint standing committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, is currently accepting submissions until 1 May, with findings to be tabled by 15 September.
McCarthy said:
First Nations people are feeling scared and angry in the wake of the alleged terrorist attack in Boorloo, Perth, and last year’s attack on Camp Sovereignty.
I know this has been a difficult time for families and communities. This inquiry ensures they can have their say and their experiences will be heard by the parliament.
I regularly hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that they are facing increasing hate and racism, especially online. We must stand up against racism in all its forms.
Updated
Stranded Australians return from Middle East
Hugs and tears from anxious family members greeted tired and weary Australian evacuees who managed to get on the first flight out from Dubai, Australia Associated Press reports.
Landing in Sydney last night, an emotional Iman Krayem was surrounded by her son, Youssef, and husband, Nazih.
She was stuck in the United Arab Emirates for several nights, on her way to see her sick father in Lebanon, when Iranian missiles struck the gilded city in response to a barrage of US and Israeli attacks.
“I was crying non-stop,” she told AAP minutes after clearing customs. “It was so stressful, I didn’t have my luggage, I had no clothes but I am happy to be back home now.”
Among the more than 200 passengers who arrived were a group of high school students travelling to Istanbul for a robotics competition.
Charity worker Hawra Khalil was in Lebanon on a humanitarian trip feeding war-torn children in several cities.
Heeding the Australian government’s travel warning, Khalil managed to catch a flight to Dubai where she was grounded with a colleague of hers.
She said being caught in a conflict zone where she felt buildings shake for a few days in the relative comfort of the Gulf monarchy drove home how other citizens in Arab countries have been faring in recent years.
“I just got a glimpse of it in Dubai and I had seen what people in Lebanon go through on a daily basis tenfold,” she said.
“It is scary, you feel threatened but I have it so much easier because what I witnessed is innocent families and innocent children starving and in poverty.”
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will pick up the slack.
Weary Australians trapped by the war in the Middle East arrived back to an emotional welcome at Sydney airport last night. More details coming up.
The Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, has announced there will be a parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people. It follows the Invasion Day rally attack in Perth and the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne last year by white supremacists. More details coming up.
