Key events
What we learned, Tuesday 10 March
Thanks for joining us today. We’ll be back tomorrow. Until then, here were today’s top stories.
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The Albanese government announced it would deploy a E-7A Wedgetail, a military surveillance plane, as 12 countries face attacks from Iran in the region.
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The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed that the government has offered humanitarian visas to five Iranian football players who have been in Australia for the Asian Cup.
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Human rights activists have expressed urgent concerns for the safety of the remaining players after they were seen arriving at the Gold Coast airport on Tuesday afternoon.
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Qantas will hike its international air fares as oil prices fluctuate and seats sell out in the wake of US-Israel attacks on Iran.
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David Littleproud has announced he will step down as Nationals leader so he can spend more time with his family. But he says he won’t be giving up his Queensland seat of Maranoa.
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Labor is toughening immigration laws to stop people from some countries travelling to Australia on some temporary visas and seeking to stay permanently because of the Middle East war.
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The home affairs department only began drafting the proposal to block Iranians on some temporary visas on Friday, a Senate inquiry heard.
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The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says the biggest risk to fuel availability in Australia right now is panic buying.
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The Liberal leader, Angus Taylor, has welcomed Australia’s involvement in the Middle East. Taylor also welcomed the decision to grant five players on the Iranian women’s soccer team humanitarian visas.
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Surging oil prices have raised the risk of the Reserve Bank hiking interest rates in a week’s time, economists have warned.
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The NSW government has announced the proposed rezoning of a neighbourhood chosen as one of the world’s coolest, which it says will deliver as many as 18,300 homes, a more than 3,000 increase on its previous plans.
Jordyn Beazley
Activist vows to wait at Sydney airport despite no sign of Iranian footballers
The Iranian football team have not yet landed in Sydney and it remains unclear if they will.
At least a dozen supporters had gathered outside a gate at Sydney’s domestic airport in anticipation the team might have been on a flight that landed from the Gold Coast about 20 minutes ago. However, the team was not on the plane.
It has not yet been confirmed if the football team’s planned route is from the Gold Coast to Sydney before they return to Iran.
Arash, one of the supporters who was standing outside the gate, says he still wants to take his chances the football team might pass through the airport.
We are here to support them.
We are here to make sure they don’t force them to go overseas with them if they want to stay.
Arash said he would wait at the airport for another plane that’s due to land from the Gold Coast at 7.20pm.
Jordyn Beazley
Protesters gather at Sydney airport as destination of Iranian footballers unknown
Our reporter, Jordyn Beazley, is at Sydney’s domestic airport where about half a dozen people have gathered at Sydney’s domestic airport in anticipation members of the Iranian football team may soon land here. It’s not yet confirmed if they are in fact stopping over in Sydney.
The people are standing outside a gate where a plane from the Gold Coast, where members of the football team were last seen, has just landed.
A number of the people waiting at the gate are wearing shirts with Iranian flags. One is wearing a shirt that says “MIGA” (Make Iran Great Again).
Qantas hikes international air fares amid Middle East conflict
Luca Ittimani
Qantas will hike its international air fares as oil prices fluctuate and seats sell out in the wake of US-Israel attacks on Iran.
Qantas International is increasing fares this week in response to oil costs, with amounts varying between routes, a spokesperson said in statement.
While the company hedges against change in jet fuel prices, it was not fully covered for the 150% spike seen in recent weeks, in the wake of surging oil prices, the spokesperson said.
The conflict has disrupted flights around the world and has closed major airports and airspaces across the Middle East, forcing international travellers to take alternative routes such as those offered by Qantas, which does not operate flights through the region.
The Australian airline’s Europe flights have continued to operate as scheduled and seats have rapidly filled up as it rebooks and refunds passengers from its partners, such as Emirates, the spokesperson said.
Routes such as Perth-London, Perth-Paris and Singapore connections are more than 90% full in March, when they would normally be just 75% full, the spokesperson said.
Qantas reported surging new bookings for flights around the world in coming months, with trips to and from Europe from April to June enjoying a particular increase in recent weeks. The company is considering adding capacity to its Europe routes, which connect through the United States, Asia and South Africa, the spokesperson said.
Nino Bucci
Officer who lobbed munition at Melbourne protest, injuring activists, cleared by police force
Victoria police say an officer who discharged a munition during a protest, injuring at least three activists, did not breach any law, policy or accepted practice within the force.
The officer used a device known as a “stinger” grenade during a protest in the Melbourne CBD last October.
The stinger grenade is designed as a crowd-control device. It makes a loud noise, creates a blinding flash and fires rubber projectiles.
Guardian Australia revealed that two people were considering legal action regarding the use of the munition. A third person has since contacted lawyers regarding a possible claim.
Footage of the incident showed an officer throwing the device towards a group of protesters, before it struck an umbrella, fell to the ground, and detonated.
In a letter sent in February to Scout*, one of the injured protesters, police confirmed an internal investigation had cleared the officer responsible of any wrongdoing.
The letter sent by professional standards command said that in addition to speaking with Scout, the investigating officer spoke with other police, consulted CCTV footage, still images, and police radio recordings and assessed operational reports and technical documents:
The police officer’s actions were consistent with their training, and I am satisfied that they had no intention of causing injury or harm to yourself or other members of the public.
In fact, my investigation revealed that the police officer had made a considered decision to place the munition in a specific location in an attempt to minimise risk to those present.
[But] the munition [struck] an umbrella … causing the device to deviate in flight and land close to yourself, prior to detonation.
*Name has been changed
Sarah Basford Canales
Iranians will be most affected by temporary visa rule changes, Senate inquiry told
The home affairs department is updating the Senate on how many temporary visa holders there are across the region affected by the war between the US and Israel, and Iran.
A department official reveals:
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Iran: 7,200 temporary visa holders
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Lebanon: 1,150
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Palestine: 157
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Syria: 207
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Kuwait: 2,584
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Oman: 1,067
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Qatar: 1,096
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United Arab Emirates: 6,435
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Israel: 11,070
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Saudi Arabia: 9,801
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Iraq: 558
The official is asked which group is most likely to be affected by the proposed changes to migration law. She answers it’s Iran.
Nationals from Iran are the most impacted by the current events, and at this point in time, it would be challenging for somebody applying for a temporary visa to meet the genuine temporary entrant test, And so that would be the group who, based on the current circumstances, are most likely [to be affected by this amendment].
Sarah Basford Canales
Home affairs department instructed to draft proposal blocking some Iranians from entering Australia on Friday
The home affairs department only began drafting a proposal to block Iranians on some temporary visas on Friday, a Senate inquiry has heard.
Department officials are appearing this evening for a snap hearing after the bill was introduced earlier today, hours after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, announced he had facilitated five asylum applications from members of the Iranian women’s football team.
Under questioning by the shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, a department representative said he had been given instructions to draft the proposal on Friday.
The proposal gives the home affairs minister the power to issue an “arrival control determination”, which prevents temporary visa holders from certain regions visiting Australia where global circumstances change in order to “protect the integrity and sustainability of Australia’s immigration system”.
That means the law, if passed, could be used to prevent Iranian tourists from travelling to Australia if their visa was issued before the US and Israel attacked Tehran, and where there is a concern they might overstay their visa or apply for protection while in Australia.
Read more here:
Danai says she expects more members of Iran’s women’s football team to seek asylum in Australia:
I am expecting a few more to seek asylum. It’s really hard to speculate … I’m thinking they have more courage.
A lot of community members have been trying to contact them through different channels to tell them “you’re going to be safe here”.
Migration agent who spoke to Iranian footballers says women worried about families back home
A migration agent who provided information to the five Iranian football players who have claimed asylum in Australia spoke to the ABC this afternoon.
The five women have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia while other team members were seen boarding a bus headed for the Gold Coast airport.
Naghmeh Danai, an Iranian-Australian migration agent, said she was involved in informing some players about their options for seeking asylum in Australia:
I was involved to explain to them and reassure them that everything is going to be under control, and the visa processing is going to be done by the Department of Home Affairs.
They were very worried about their families back in Iran because … if they go back to Iran they can be facing a lot of danger, a lot of consequences, like imprisonment or even above that.
Military involvement in Middle East ‘profoundly distressing’, McKim says
Greens senator Nick McKim says Australia is “cheerleading” on an illegal war on the basis of a lie after the government announced Australia would send a number of military assets to support Gulf nations.
“Honestly, what’s harmed our relationships in the region is cheerleading on an illegal war, starting by the US and Israel,” he told the ABC a short time ago, continuing:
Labor is now committing us more and more deeply to an illegal war on the basis of the lie that … these assets, these missiles are being committed in a defensive capacity only – when in fact we know that they are going to take up the strain that will allow the US, in particular, to use its military assets to continue the firestorm that is currently raining down on Iran.
And, as always in wars, it’s innocent people who are going to pay the price with their lives and their futures. It’s profoundly distressing.
Jonathan Barrett
ASX recovers $35bn but Iran concerns remain
Investor hopes for a swift resolution to the Middle East conflict propelled Australian shares higher today, though the market recovery moderated over the course of the trading session.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished the day up 1.1% to close at 8,692.6 points, recovering about $35bn in value after yesterday’s $90bn plunge.
Oil prices surged to a four-year high early in the week before coming back down below $US90 a barrel, after Donald Trump suggested the Iran conflict would end soon, sending global stock markets higher.
Equity markets have been pulled up and down by the Middle East, given energy disruptions and increased oil costs contribute to global inflation by elevating costs across nearly all goods and services.
The ASX was forecast to rise more than 2% today, according to overnight futures pricing, but the rebound proved weaker than expected amid lingering investor concerns.
It’s unclear in the longer term whether shipping volumes through the crucial strait of Hormuz would simply bounce back, or if there would be added risk and freight cost, in the event of a quick resolution to the conflict.
Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, said oil was the main driver of market moves:
Markets are going to remain volatile and reactive to every development in the Middle East over the coming days and weeks and the situation on the ground is still serious.
Our reporter Andrew Messenger is still at the Gold Coast airport, where the Iranian football team was seen arriving about an hour ago.
At this stage, it’s unclear whether the team is still in the airport, or if they have flown out.
About 10 members of the Queensland police public safety response team were seen entering the airport a short time ago.
Granting Iranian soccer players asylum was ‘the right thing to do’ says Hastie
Andrew Hastie, the shadow industry minister, says granting asylum to Iran’s women’s soccer team “was a very unique case” and was “the right thing to do”.
“These are women who face persecution back in Iran and I think the government has done the right thing in granting them asylum. Anyone who draws a parallel between this and [Islamic State] sympathisers is wrong,” he told the ABC a short time ago.
He said indications some of the women were being coerced into leaving Australia were “very concerning”, and “a sign that maybe the regime is a little more resilient than the United States thought a week or so ago.”
We’ve done what we can for the five who accepted asylum and I think it was the right thing to do.
Military support for Gulf countries critical to ‘get oil moving’, Hastie says
Andrew Hastie, the shadow industry minister, says he doesn’t think Australia is at war, but is “certainly assisting” the United States and the larger European military contribution, he told the ABC a short time ago.
“We should view this as part of a larger package designed to get oil moving and protect the Gulf states who are so fundamental to economic security,” he said, continuing:
I do support the effort because I think it’s in Australian national interest.
I’m concerned this war continues on for much more than the week that President Trump … hinted at this morning. I’m worried this goes on for four or five weeks and what that means for our economic position in the world given we are so dependent upon the importation of liquid fuel.
… But we didn’t get a choice … We’re price-takers, not price-makers in this war at the moment. The best thing we can do is assist in getting the strait of Hormuz opened up and protecting critical infrastructure.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert: protecting Iranian footballers ‘a rare opportunity to hold the regime to account’
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the a security studies expert at Macquarie University who spent 804 days in a prison in Tehran, has commended the way the government handled giving asylum to the Iranian women’s football team.
“I think they acted swiftly and did the right thing,” she told the ABC just now. “I commend Albanese’s swift action on this. I think it became a global story and it became politically unfeasible for them not to do anything … given the evidence, that perhaps some of these women were being coerced and controlled by the Iranian delegation.”
She said it was “concerning” that the rest of the team were on their way to the airport and would leave Australia soon. “Whether or not that’s what they desire is still unknown,” she said, continuing:
This is a rare opportunity to hold the regime to account for the way it treats women and girls, and if there’s any evidence of [coercion], seize upon it and do our very best to protect these women in a very difficult situation.
Speaking about Motjaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, she said:
He’s said to be even more hardline than his father, and he’s even closer to the IRGC.
I think it’s going to get really, really messy and this crisis will become protracted.
