Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Wong. It's clear the conflict in the Middle East is not likely to end quickly. Iran continues to attack countries in the region, and travel disruptions continue. Can the minister please provide an update on the conflict and how the Albanese Labor government is supporting Australians who are impacted?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Neill for her question and, if I may, also thank her for her work as one of the conveners of the Parliamentary Friends of Ukraine and again welcome to the Senate our friends from Ukraine, including Dr Mykhailiuk. Thank you to you and your delegation for being here. We stand with Ukraine.

Iran's reprisal attacks have continued to escalate at a scale and breadth we have not seen before, now attacking 11 countries. The UAE alone has been forced to intercept more than a thousand drones and rockets. The Iranian regime's intensifying hostile attacks are on countries that have nothing to do with the US and Israeli strikes. Countries in the region are now being forced to defend themselves. Australia supported action that prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and from continuing to threaten international peace and security. It is clear that this conflict is now widening. Australia is not participating in the US strikes, and we have been clear that we are not sending Australian troops into Iran.

The first priority of our government is and always will be to protect Australians and keep them safe at home and overseas. We have 115,000 Australians in the Middle East, 24,000 of them in the UAE. As we have said, we have been working on contingencies to keep Australians safe and get travellers home. We've sent DFAT personnel to the region as part of crisis response teams. They are on the ground providing medical and consular support. We have already deployed military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week. We will continue to look at all options that we have available to us, engaging partners and taking action to support efforts to keep Australians safe. I regret that the conflict is likely to get worse before it gets better, and we call on all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and to protect civilian life. Our hope is that we will see, in the near term, a return to dialogue and diplomacy.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Neill, first supplementary.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many of us were emotional seeing those images last night of Australians returning home. It's clear that the Albanese Labor government's top priorities are keeping Australians safe and working to give help to Australians who need it. What is the government doing to support Australians in the region?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator O'Neill, and you're correct. I think so many of us were moved by the images of more than 200 Australians greeting loved ones in Sydney. I can confirm that another flight left Dubai this morning with hundreds of Australians on board. At this stage, another two flights are scheduled to depart for Australia today if conditions permit. We understand that the UAE and airlines are working hard to put on flights out of the region. They also need to of course make sure that flights can safely depart.

Obviously, the situation is enormously difficult while the region is under attack by the Iranian regime; however, commercial flights continue to be the fastest way to help Australians leave the Middle East at scale. There are many more thousands of Australians waiting for flights to come home. This will continue to be a challenging time for many Australians, and travel disruptions could persist for some time.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Neill, second supplementary?

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Wong, you have said throughout the week that travel disruptions could go on for some time as the conflict continues. Could you please provide an update on what else the Albanese Labor government is doing, particularly by engaging international partners, to help support Australians?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As Senator O'Neill says, our government's first priority is keeping Australians safe. We are working around the clock to help Australians who need it. I am in touch with our partners in the region to engage on efforts to support Australians impacted by travel disruption.

Yesterday the Prime Minister and I spoke with our counterparts in the UAE, and last night I spoke to my counterparts in Jordan and Israel, to discuss Iran's escalating reprisal attacks and to engage on efforts to support Australians impacted by travel disruptions. Earlier this morning, I spoke jointly to my counterparts from the United Kingdom and Canada. We agreed to coordinate closely, as we always have, on support for our citizens in the region. We continue to do all we can to support Australians impacted by travel disruptions.