Marles defends reports of 24-hour wait to reach consular staff
Marles is asked about reports of Australians in the Middle East waiting 24 hours to reach consular staff, as they plan their evacuation from the region.
Marles says there are more than 115,000 Australians in the region, with 11,000 travellers going between Australia and the Middle East on any normal day, so it’s a “significant load” on the staff.
The government is monitoring reports of limited airspace openings, and Marles says the government is considering contingency options.
There are a significant number of Australians there, we’re obviously working through all of this as quickly as possible. We are posting advice on Smartraveller as soon as it comes to hand, and we are very much encouraging people to monitor that very closely.
There’s been some reports of marginal airspace being opened up in a limited way, but really that’s the issue that we’re monitoring closely. We are going through some contingency arrangements right now, which I won’t speak about publicly … but for most people, the most expeditious way in which they will be able to leave is going to be through commercial flights as soon as [they open].
Key events
Thistlethwaite ‘not aware’ of any advice sought on legality of strikes
The government has so far dodged questions on whether the US and Israeli strikes on Iran are illegal, saying that’s a question for the two nations leading the action.
RN Breakfast host, Sally Sara, asks whether the government has sought any advice on the legality of the strikes. Thistlethwaite says he’s “not aware” it has been sought.
Sara pushes Thistlethwaite, who then says the government supports upholding international law but that “we make our decisions based on what we believe is in the best interests of Australia and the international community.”
So how does that compare to other like minded nations? Thistlethwaite argues Australia’s position is consistent with others including Canada and the UK.
We work with other middle power nations to ensure that we have consistent positions. And when you look at the approach that Canada and the United Kingdom, countries that we’ve worked closely with on the conflict in this region, they have a similar position to Australia. Australia is not an outlier in this and the approach that we have taken.
Labor says it did warn travellers about possible airspace shutdown
The assistant foreign affairs minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, has defended Labor against criticism from shadow defence minister, James Paterson, who questioned whether the government gave sufficient warnings to Australians before the conflict broke out in the Middle East.
Thistlethwaite tells RN Breakfast that the government has issued 41 travel advice updates since the beginning of the year, and that it’s been constantly working on “the best available intelligence and advice and updating Australians”.
There have been 41 travel advice updates that the Australian government has issued for the region and 26 social media posts. On 15 January, the foreign minister gave a media conference where she warned that the airspace could close in the coming weeks in the region. And on 19 February, we updated the travel warnings once again, telling people to issue a very high degree of caution if you’re looking to go to the area.
Again, the assistant minister tells Australians to register with Smartraveller.
Hopefully the airspace will progressively begin to open over the coming weeks and then we’ll have options to get Australians out. But the reality is the best option will be commercial flights.
Don’t cancel your flight. Make sure that you maintain your flight and that you’re in regular contact with your travel agent and your airline about updates.
Government takes conflict ‘a day at a time’
Moving across to ABC News Breakfast, Richard Marles say the government is taking the conflict in the Middle East – and its economic consequences – a day at a time.
Marles says the government’s focus is “on the consular side” by making sure Australians are informed – and encourages anyone in the region to register with Smartraveller.
He and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have emphasised that the best way to return to Australia will be via commercial flights when they resume. Marles says there are contingency plans being made, but won’t provide any details.
It sounds trite, but you literally kind of have to take this at a day at a time. It is very difficult to speculate about how long this will go. You are right that there could easily be an economic dimension to this, and it is a function of how long it goes. And we’re, again, we’re very mindful of that and looking at what the potential economic impacts will be.
Marles responds to Ayatollah memorials
Richard Marles says he won’t direct police on what action to take against a small number of mosques and Islamic centres in Melbourne and Sydney who have invited members to mourn the death of Iran’s supreme leader.
Last night, Anthony Albanese called the events “inappropriate”.
Marles is asked whether there will be any police action taken against the mosques and centres. He says:
I’m not about to suggest what the police should do, that’s that’s a matter for them. But let me say this, our our thoughts are not with the supreme leader. Our thoughts are with the thousands of Iranians who have died at the hands of the supreme leader just in the last few weeks, without looking at the countless numbers of Iranians who have lost their lives over the nearly 40 years that the supreme leader has been at the helm of the Iranian state.
Marles defends reports of 24-hour wait to reach consular staff
Marles is asked about reports of Australians in the Middle East waiting 24 hours to reach consular staff, as they plan their evacuation from the region.
Marles says there are more than 115,000 Australians in the region, with 11,000 travellers going between Australia and the Middle East on any normal day, so it’s a “significant load” on the staff.
The government is monitoring reports of limited airspace openings, and Marles says the government is considering contingency options.
There are a significant number of Australians there, we’re obviously working through all of this as quickly as possible. We are posting advice on Smartraveller as soon as it comes to hand, and we are very much encouraging people to monitor that very closely.
There’s been some reports of marginal airspace being opened up in a limited way, but really that’s the issue that we’re monitoring closely. We are going through some contingency arrangements right now, which I won’t speak about publicly … but for most people, the most expeditious way in which they will be able to leave is going to be through commercial flights as soon as [they open].
Australia not asked to participate in Iran action: Marles
Defence minister and deputy PM, Richard Marles, says Australia has not been asked to participate in actions against Iran.
Marles is doing the media rounds this morning, he tells the Today Show he won’t speculate on how long this action will go for.
I think it’s hard to speculate exactly how long this will go. Obviously, we are monitoring this very closely, but we’ve not been asked to participate. This is an action which is being undertaken by the United States and by Israel.
Again, Marles also deflects questions on whether the strikes by the US and Israel are “legal”. He sidesteps and instead says:
I mean, what is unlawful is for Iran to be seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon capability. I mean, that flies in the face of the non-proliferation treaty and the international regime.
Cait Kelly
Men almost twice as likely as women to earn high salaries, new report
Men are nearly twice as likely as women to be making $220,000 a year, with minimal progress made on closing Australia’s gender pay gap in the past 12 months.
The federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published its gender pay gap results for 10,500 employers on Tuesday. It revealed there was a slight increase in the number of women in highly paid roles, but men were still 1.8 times more likely to be in the upper quartile of earners on an average salary of $221,000.
On the other hand, women were 1.4 times more likely than men to be in the lowest quartile of earners with an average salary of about $60,000 a year.
You can read more here:
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji with you here, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
The situation in the Middle East will continue to dominate the headlines this morning. The deputy PM and defence minister, Richard Marles, has been wheeled out again for the government as it faces questions on whether it has or will support any military action against Iran – it says it wasn’t privy to the strikes in advance and is not a “central” player in the region.
As my colleague, Tom McIlroy, has just brought you, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney (admired by many in Labor) is heading to Australia today – but the more exciting stuff, including an address to parliament, will happen a bit later this week.
I hope you’ve got a coffee, I’ve got mine – let’s get into it!
Canadian PM Mark Carney to address federal parliament during three-day visit
Tom McIlroy
The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, arrives in Australia today for a three-day official visit, set to include a rare address to federal parliament.
Carney is due to visit Sydney and Canberra and hold talks with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. It will be the ninth meeting between the two leaders.
They will discuss critical minerals, climate change, economic security and prosperity, and defence cooperation. Canada and Australia have already signed a joint declaration of intent on critical minerals, and the agreement could be upgraded as part of this week’s visit.
Carney and Albanese are also expected to discuss the growing conflict in Iran, sparked by weekend bombings by the United States and Israel. Carney has talked up the opportunity for middle powers including Canada and Australia to act as a bloc in recent months, part of a much-discussed address to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Carney’s visit is also set to include an event at the thinktank, the Lowy Institute.
Sarah Basford Canales
Memorials for Aytatollah Ali Khamenei ‘inappropriate’, PM says
Memorials within Australia for Aytatollah Ali Khamenei – Iran’s late supreme leader – are “inappropriate”, Anthony Albanese has said.
Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes over the weekend in a pre-emptive strike against the country’s ballistic missiles program.
On Sunday, thousands of Iranian Australians attended celebratory events to mark Khamenei’s death. The Shia Muslim Council of Australia said Iran holds “profound religious significance” for its community.
The prime minister told ABC’s 7.30 last night that Khamenei should not be mourned. He said:
We in this country have a different approach to people having different views from a totalitarian regime such as Iran, but our position is very clear, and I’m sure that is shared by the overwhelming majority of Australians, including the overwhelming number of Australians of Iranian descent …
I don’t think [memorials are] appropriate. And certainly I think that, overwhelmingly, people won’t be participating.
PM says he does not expect US to ask for military assistance in war on Iran
Sarah Basford Canales
Anthony Albanese does not believe the US government will request military assistance from Australia in its conflict against Iran, noting Australia is “a long way” from the Middle East.
In an interview with ABC’s 7.30 last night, the prime minister said the US had not requested military assistance and he did not expect they would in the coming days and weeks.
Albanese said:
It’s a long way from Australia, and Australia is not – we are not big players in the Middle East.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
Anthony Albanese says he doesn’t expect the US will ask Australia for military assistance against Iran because it’s a “long way” away.
And the Canadian PM, Mark Carney, is due to arrive in Australia later today, though the main action of the visit is expected later in the week. He and Albanese are expected to cover a lot of ground in their talks. More details on this soon.
