Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: We've had some positive news today, you might be aware we currently have a plane from Dubai to Sydney with over 200 Australians on it and that follows my conversation with the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates and also the Prime Minister's conversation with the President. We thank the UAE for their support. Obviously we still have a lot of work to do but it's pleasing to see a commercial option being provided. Unfortunately, this conflict is spreading and intensifying. What we have seen is Iran has now hit 10 countries. We have seen an attack on the US consulate. I would also say to you that the Australian consulate is not far from that consulate, but I am pleased to be able to confirm that all Australian personnel remain accounted for and safe. Again, the Dubai to Sydney flight – we are pleased that this is occurring, but we know there is a lot more to do. As I said to you earlier in this week, we have many thousands Australians who are in the Middle East. We have many thousands in the United Arab Emirates because of the travel arrangements that Australians often transit through that region. We know this is a very difficult time. We are conscious of how distressed many people are. I want to assure you that we will continue to do all that we can to get Australians home and to keep Australians safe. And we will keep – sorry, can I finish, please Andrew. I also want to announce today that we are deploying six Crisis Response Reams into the region. This is additional consular support to help the people who are still there on the ground and I thank them all for their work. I'm not in a position, obviously you'd understand, for security reasons, to be disclosing to you where and how they are travelling. They are deploying into conflict zones, but we are deploying additional consular assistance into the region. I'll go here first.
Journalist: Minister, Mark Carney has said [indistinct] today that the US and Israel strikes [indistinct] are illegal under international law. Will you and the Prime Minister echo those [indistinct]?
Foreign Minister: I think Prime Minister Carney also said it is for others to judge, and I have made clear that this is a matter for Israel and the US, the legal basis of the war, for those two countries to respond to. Woah, woah one at once.
Journalist: Minister, did you make a mistake when a week ago, you said to diplomats, including in the UAE, your dependants are offered voluntary departures, but you didn't give sufficient warning to Australians they should not be travelling through that area?
Foreign Minister: Andrew, I think really, the Opposition needs to get their facts straight. We have a very strict no double standards policy. A very strict no double standards policy, which means what is directed by the department to their people is what is what is made public and that is what occurred. That's the first point. The second point I would make is our directions were in relation to Israel and Lebanon and some voluntary departures as well, all of which was made public. Now, I don't think, you know, we certainly did not know that Iran was going to hit 10 countries in the region. And, you know, for those who are criticising, if they think they knew that, then they probably should have told us.
Journalist: Sorry, the UAE and Qatar, they're, there's reports today saying that they are privately lobbying allied countries, trying to put on Trump to get in on an off-ramp. Has Australia or any other middle powers that you know of been engaged in those conversations?
Foreign Minister: We have certainly been engaged with the countries of the region. And I think we all understand that the conflict at the moment is widening and it is intensifying and that is a great risk to the region. The people of the region also has implications for the global economy. We also know that ultimately, in order to achieve stability, there will need to be dialogue and diplomacy. So, of course, we're engaged with that.
Journalist: But have we received those requests, but have we received those requests, to engage?
Foreign Minister: We are engaging, we're in regular contact with countries of the region.
Journalist: Would Australia consider providing direct military assistance in this conflict if requested by the US?
Foreign Minister: We're not considering sending Australian troops into Iran.
Journalist: Minister, will there be more flights coming out of the Middle East and how many Australians out of those 115,000 have registered that they do want to come home?
Foreign Minister: Thank you, we are still going through a very lengthy registration process and because of the numbers that I've described, 115,000 in the region, 24,000 in the UAE, we are putting many staff on to deal with what is a very large number, an unprecedented number of registrations. I'm not able to update at the moment because in part, we also have to assess their eligibility. So, there has to be a process of considering their registration and assessing their eligibility for the purposes of taking further action.
Journalist: The government regularly refers to the invasion, Russia's invasion of Ukraine as illegal. But you're refusing to give a view either way on this, on the attacks on Iran. Why are you willing to express a view on the legality of one conflict and not on another conflict? And which is more important, the moral justification for a military action or the legal justification?
Foreign Minister: Look, I understand there's a lot of focus on this. I would say a number of things, the first is, as I again have said, the legal basis for this is a matter for the United States and for Israel to explain. And as the Prime Minister made clear if – let me finish, please let me finish please – as the Prime Minister has said, we're not party to all the intelligence that is being referenced. It is also important to note that this did not begin with the strikes. We support action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to be. From Iran continuing to be at risk to global peace and security. And the fact that Iran is a risk to peace and stability has been demonstrated in these last few days, has been demonstrated in these last few days where they have attacked no less than 10 countries, including non-participants. They have attacked countries that have not been party to this. And can I remind all of you, Iran also was engaged in attacks on Australian soil against Australians.
Journalist: Minister, further to Karen's question, in your view, in your view, is it possible for the attacks on Iran to be unlawful in terms of international law, but supportive or justified? Or justified nonetheless?
Foreign Minister: This is the same question.
Journalist: And you support it being illegal?
Foreign Minister: With respect, I'm handling this press conference. I'm going to you.
Journalist: Minister, given how volatile it is overseas at the moment, what is your advice to Australians who might be thinking of going overseas on holiday or for other reasons in the coming months, would they be better off staying at home?
Foreign Minister: Well, we're very careful about the travel advice we do give and, you know, I make the point that I think prior to Saturday, we gave some 40, there were some 41 different warnings, updates on travel advice about the possibility of conflict or instability in the Middle East. What I would say to Australians is one, please look at the travel advice. Secondly, I would say to them, this is unprecedented, what we are seeing in the Middle East, and we know that because we have been, you know, I think most of you have been Journalists through the previous conflicts that we have seen in the Middle East, and we have always had a situation where there has been reasonably contained and limited conflict. It is not limited and it is not contained in the way that we have seen previously which is why, you know, we see so many countries affected and so many travellers disrupted over here.
Journalist: Minister Wong, what's your advice to Australians who are stranded and are waiting for repatriation flights?
Foreign Minister: Yes well I would say to them first, I understand how difficult it is and people must be very distressed. I want to assure them that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to enable people to come home safely. We know there are difficult days, not just now, but difficult days ahead. And the third thing I would say is, again, the reason we are focusing on commercial options, obviously we're looking at other contingencies, but the reason we are focusing on commercial options is that the numbers of people in the region means that the quickest way we can get people home safely is via commercial means.
Journalist: On repatriation, when you had your discussion with your UAE counterparts, did you raise the prospect of repatriation flights in any way and did he say he'd be open to that, should that be necessary?
Foreign Minister: We are working on a number of contingency arrangements. You would anticipate that of course, those are being scoped with our partners. But I again come back to the point that the quickest way to get people at scale home is for there to be commercial flights returning. We anticipate that's likely to be sporadic, but I'm very pleased to see we do have one commercial flight en-route, as we speak.
Journalist: Speaking of commercial flights, are you or anyone in your government been in contact with airlines?
Foreign Minister: Regularly.
Journalist: Are you offering incentives for those repatriations like you have done in the past?
Foreign Minister: Sorry can I first just make clear that we are in regular contact with the airlines. Obviously, we don't, you know, how they operate is a matter for them, but we are in very close contact with the airlines and the airlines have been very engaged with us and we appreciate it. Last one.
Journalist: But have you offered incentives for those?
Foreign Minister: I haven't needed to, no. The constraint is not them wanting to fly. They have their own, you know, they obviously want to fly. The constraint has been that there is conflict going on and that we see drone strikes or missile strikes in 10 countries. That is the constraint on travel. Last one.
Journalist: The justification for the Israeli President's visit to Australia was to participate in the mourning and consoling of the Jewish community. Why is it appropriate for him to visit ASIO during that trip and why wasn't it made public at that time?
Foreign Minister: Well, look, I was asked about this yesterday and I think Minister Watt, who's representing the Home Affairs Minister, will be responding to that, as I indicated. And so I will refer you to that answer. Thanks very much, everybody.
Journalist: You didn't answer the question Minister.
Foreign Minister: I just gave an answer. Sorry, Ben, I didn't see you, Ben.
Journalist: Alex Ryvchin has challenged police to prosecute people who've been sort of publicly mourning Iran's supreme leader, noting that the IRGC, of which he is sort of nominally the head, is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia. What do you think about this? Do you think that mourning of the spiritual leader could also be construed as support for the IRGC?
Foreign Minister: I'd make three points. I'm disappointed that people are mourning. And I think most Australians are not, because the Iranian regime was and has been involved in terror attacks around the world, including on Australian soil. Second, we do have the strongest hate laws that we have ever seen, thanks to the government's passage of them. I will leave it to law enforcement authorities to judge what is appropriate there. Thanks very much for your time.