15m agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 9:58pm
International law experts question legality of attacks on Iran
Experts have called on the government to stand up for international law following strikes by the US and Israel on Iran.
Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter terrorism, argued not doing so would lead to an “incredibly dangerous” world.
“At a time when the United States is walking away from international law, the obligation is on middle powers like Australia, and Canada, and the United Kingdom to stand up for international law and naked aggression like this,” he said.
“Because a world without international law, with no rules, that’s governed by the law of the jungle and where might is right is an incredibly dangerous place for all of us.”
Listen to Sara’s package on AM this morning.
43m agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 9:29pm
Australia not asked to provide military support
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Australia has not been asked to provide military support amid the conflict in the Middle East, Richard Marles says.
But the deputy prime minister declined to say whether the government was open to providing support if asked in the future.
“I’m not in the habit of speculating,” he told Sky News.
“This is action that’s being undertaken by the US and Israel and [I’ll] leave it at that.”
There are over 100 Australian defence personnel in in the region, including at the Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
Marles says they have all been accounted for and the government is working to increase the safety for the diplomatic corps in region.
1h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:57pm
Government won’t be drawn on regime change in Iran
Deputy PM Richard Marles wouldn’t be drawn on the matter of regime change in Iran.
“Well, I mean, we’ve made clear our support, and that position is there. This is an action which is being taken by the United States and by Israel,” he says.
“And as I said, we’ve not been a part of this. That said, our position on the Iranian regime is absolutely clear and we absolutely stand in support of the Iranian people.”
It echoed comments made by Foreign Minister Penny Wong on ABC’s News Breakfast earlier today when she said the future of the Iranian state was “in the hands of the Iranian people”.
“What we do know from history … is that regime change is not something [that] can sustainably be externally imposed. What we know is that ultimately it is the people of a country that have to determine and should determine their destinies,” she said.
1h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:42pm
Australia did not provide practical support ahead of strikes on Iran: Marles
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has just stepped into the ABC Radio National Breakfast studio.
He’s asked if the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran are justified in Australia’s view.
“We certainly regard the regime in Iran as abhorrent and we certainty support the United States in taking action to prevent Iran from being able to acquire a nuclear weapon and to stop its nuclear program,” he says.
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
So did Australia provide any practical support, including the use of joint facilities on Australian soil (aka Pine Gap)?
“No,” Marles says.
“I mean, we weren’t advised of this before it happened but we wouldn’t have expected to be either.”
Asked if the attacks were legal under international law, Marles said that was a matter for the US and Israel.
1h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:33pm
Angus Taylor’s first day in the opposition leader’s chair
While a lot of our focus will be the Australian response to the unfolding situation in the Middle East, we can’t forget that parliament is back.
It’ll be Angus Taylor’s first day in the opposition leader’s chair since he challenged Sussan Ley just over two weeks ago.
A new shadow frontbench means there will also be a little reshuffle (again!!!) in the seating arrangements in the House of Reps.
1h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:25pm
Lambie’s call for government to do more on defence
An escalation of the conflict in the Middle East should act as a “wake-up call” for the government’s defence build-up, Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says.
“I suggest they look at certainly getting more missiles, more drones, here into our defence force because, quite frankly, I’ll tell you what, [if] one of those missiles come here … we’re not stopping it, baby,” she told Nine.
However the senator insisted Australia should not get involved in the conflict in the region.
The government has repeatedly said it did not participate in the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran.
1h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:14pm
Wong sidesteps questions about legality of strikes on Iran
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has sidestepped questions about the legality of the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran.
“The legal basis of this is for the United States and Israel to explain,” she told ABC’s News Breakfast.
“We are obviously not party to the intelligence that both the United States and the Israelis are referencing in their decisions. That is why it is for them to explain the legal basis of this. We do support action taken to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.”
The foreign minister said she had not yet spoken to her US counterpart Marco Rubio.
“I note overnight that [US President Donald Trump] has said that the new Iranian leadership have reached out. We hope that that results in productive discussion,” Wong said.
2h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 8:01pm
Government estimates 115,000 Australians in Middle East amid conflict
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed there were an estimated 115,000 Australians in the Middle East amid the conflict.
An online portal set up to provide advice to Australians in the Middle East has been expanded to include the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“What I have done this morning, in addition to Iran and Israel, I have directed my department to open up the Foreign Affairs and Trade’s portal, where people can register and get timely updates for the UAE and Qatar,” she told ABC’s News Breakfast.
Flights in and out of the region’s transport hubs have been cancelled since the Middle East conflict erupted over the weekend.
Wong said the government needed to find out if commercial flights would resume before considering repatriations.
“Well, first we need to see if commercial [flights] restart. Given the number of people in the region, people will get home most quickly if they can, if we can, facilitate people getting on commercial flights at the moment. The issue is not who is flying, it’s that people are not flying,” she said.
2h agoSun 1 Mar 2026 at 7:54pm
Good morning 👋
Hi friends. Welcome back to another week in federal politics.
I’m Courtney Gould from the ABC’s Parliament House bureau here and ready to guide you through the day.
Parliament is back for another sitting fortnight but expect a lot of attention from our politicians to be on the latest conflict in the Middle East.
Let’s dive right in.
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