Politics live: stranded travellers return from Middle East with three more flights scheduled today; inquiry into racism towards Indigenous Australians | Australia news
Stranded Australians return from Middle East
Hugs and tears from anxious family members greeted tired and weary Australian evacuees who managed to get on the first flight out from Dubai, Australia Associated Press reports.
Landing in Sydney last night, an emotional Iman Krayem was surrounded by her son, Youssef, and husband, Nazih.
She was stuck in the United Arab Emirates for several nights, on her way to see her sick father in Lebanon, when Iranian missiles struck the gilded city in response to a barrage of US and Israeli attacks.
“I was crying non-stop,” she told AAP minutes after clearing customs. “It was so stressful, I didn’t have my luggage, I had no clothes but I am happy to be back home now.”
Among the more than 200 passengers who arrived were a group of high school students travelling to Istanbul for a robotics competition.
Charity worker Hawra Khalil was in Lebanon on a humanitarian trip feeding war-torn children in several cities.
Heeding the Australian government’s travel warning, Khalil managed to catch a flight to Dubai where she was grounded with a colleague of hers.
She said being caught in a conflict zone where she felt buildings shake for a few days in the relative comfort of the Gulf monarchy drove home how other citizens in Arab countries have been faring in recent years.
“I just got a glimpse of it in Dubai and I had seen what people in Lebanon go through on a daily basis tenfold,” she said.
“It is scary, you feel threatened but I have it so much easier because what I witnessed is innocent families and innocent children starving and in poverty.”
Key events
Ben Doherty
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has softened his support for US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying while he welcomes end of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime – “the principal source of instability and terror in the region” – he does not believe the attacks on Iran were legal, and they represent “another example of the failure of the international order”.
Carney is visiting Australia – partly on a trade mission, but also to help build cooperation between so-called middle powers. Carney has spoken previously about ‘variable geometry’ – the building of a variety of international coalitions to address specific issues.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Carney’s position on the strikes on Iran was tempered from his initial forthright support.
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said on Saturday.
On Wednesday night in Sydney, he said the Iranian regime and its proxies had murdered hundreds of Canadians over years, and “caused untold suffering for millions of people in the Middle East and beyond”.
He said Canada stood with the people of Iran in their struggle against the regime’s oppression, and “supported the imperative of neutralising this grave global threat”.
But we also take this position with some regret, because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order, despite decades of UN Security Council resolutions, the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, Iran’s nuclear threat remains, and now United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies, including Canada.
The question is: where to from here? Given we have a rapidly spreading conflict and growing threats to civilian life across the region, Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents.
Carney said the US and Israeli strikes appeared to be unlawful, in that they were not made with Security Council support, or in the face of imminent threat.
The action that was taken, we weren’t consulted on it. There was not a process, a broader process for it. It would appear, prima facie… to be inconsistent with international law.
Middle East war will put additional pressure on economy, says treasurer
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is also doing the media rounds this morning, as he faces questions on how the conflict in the Middle East will impact the budget due to be handed down in just over two months.
Chalmers had a pretty decent day yesterday off the back of some positive national accounts figures that showed Australia’s economic growth accelerated at the end of 2025.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, Chalmers says the economy has already been under pressure from global uncertainty and rising inflation.
There are swings and roundabouts when we think about the implications for the budget in May.
When it comes to price pressures and when it comes to global economic uncertainty, what we’re seeing in the Middle East, will put additional pressure on the economy, on Australians, and it will be a big feature of our thinking as we put the government’s fifth budget together.
On petrol prices, Chalmers says that some price rises seen already could be part of the ordinary fuel cycle but adds that, “there are legitimate concerns, about, the potential, for some opportunistic pricing”. He’s tasked the consumer watchdog to monitor for any price gouging.
Wong ‘deeply concerned’ conflict in Middle East is spreading
Wong says she’s very concerned the conflict is spreading “rapidly” as Iran engaged in strikes on Turkey overnight – a Nato member.
Turkey is the 11th country Iran has sought to strike.
I don’t think we anticipated, or any country might have anticipated, that Iran would respond in in the way that it has. It has, within the first 72 hours, struck many non-participant countries. It engaged in strikes on airport hubs. So this conflict has spread very rapidly, and the conflict is much more intense.
So we are deeply concerned about this conflict spreading.
Wong says the conflict is “unpredictable” and Australians with travel plans in upcoming months will need to “think very carefully” about their travel plans.
Three flights scheduled from Middle East to Australia today
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has welcomed the first flight from Dubai to Sydney carrying more than 230 Australians returning yesterday, and has announced another three flights are scheduled to return today.
Speaking to journalists this morning, Wong said there’s much more to do to get Australians home. She said yesterday that six teams have been deployed to the region to assist Australians.
There are currently around 24,000 Australians in the United Arab Emirates and 115,000 more broadly across the Middle East. Wong said she doesn’t yet have the firm numbers of how many people want to return home, but that Australians are rapidly registering with the government.
We have three flights that are currently scheduled today for departure for Australia from the UAE. Obviously, those are subject to confirmation that it is safe and secure to leave. Changes could happen until the last moment, but I hope that those flights are also able to depart safely.
We have had a lot of registrations, and that is a good thing … We are working through that registration process to determine eligibility and also people’s relative needs.
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you this morning, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s going to be another busy day in Parliament House today. Penny Wong is doing the media rounds this morning as the first flight from Dubai to Australia returns and another three flights are scheduled for today.
And do you taste maple syrup in the air? Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister is in Canberra today. He’s due to deliver a speech to parliament and host a press conference with Anthony Albanese.
We’ll bring you all this and much more, as it happens. Let’s get straight into it!
More from AAP on the people arriving back from the Middle East last night.
Mining executive Troy Barker landed in Dubai only for a day and was at a popular horse race on Saturday, where the Emirati ruler was also in attendance, when he saw drones and missiles across the city’s skyline.
“I saw a couple of missiles but I’ve worked in Africa for 20 years so I’ve seen many things,” he said.
He praised communications from Emirates airlines and the authorities on the ground, saying he was lucky to be home.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, earlier said she was pleased the first plane carrying Australians from Dubai to Sydney was on its way, as more than 115,000 Australians remain stranded in the region.
“We know this is a very difficult time. We are conscious of how distressed many people are,” she told reporters in Canberra.
New inquiry into racism towards Indigenous Australians announced
Douglas Smith
The federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has announced there will be a parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people.
McCarthy said it comes at an important time, after the alleged terror attack at Perth’s Invasion Day rally on 26 January, and the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne last year by white supremacists.
She said it also coincided with a reported increase in racism against First Nations Australians, especially online.
The inquiry, conducted by the joint standing committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, is currently accepting submissions until 1 May, with findings to be tabled by 15 September.
McCarthy said:
First Nations people are feeling scared and angry in the wake of the alleged terrorist attack in Boorloo, Perth, and last year’s attack on Camp Sovereignty.
I know this has been a difficult time for families and communities. This inquiry ensures they can have their say and their experiences will be heard by the parliament.
I regularly hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that they are facing increasing hate and racism, especially online. We must stand up against racism in all its forms.
Stranded Australians return from Middle East
Hugs and tears from anxious family members greeted tired and weary Australian evacuees who managed to get on the first flight out from Dubai, Australia Associated Press reports.
Landing in Sydney last night, an emotional Iman Krayem was surrounded by her son, Youssef, and husband, Nazih.
She was stuck in the United Arab Emirates for several nights, on her way to see her sick father in Lebanon, when Iranian missiles struck the gilded city in response to a barrage of US and Israeli attacks.
“I was crying non-stop,” she told AAP minutes after clearing customs. “It was so stressful, I didn’t have my luggage, I had no clothes but I am happy to be back home now.”
Among the more than 200 passengers who arrived were a group of high school students travelling to Istanbul for a robotics competition.
Charity worker Hawra Khalil was in Lebanon on a humanitarian trip feeding war-torn children in several cities.
Heeding the Australian government’s travel warning, Khalil managed to catch a flight to Dubai where she was grounded with a colleague of hers.
She said being caught in a conflict zone where she felt buildings shake for a few days in the relative comfort of the Gulf monarchy drove home how other citizens in Arab countries have been faring in recent years.
“I just got a glimpse of it in Dubai and I had seen what people in Lebanon go through on a daily basis tenfold,” she said.
“It is scary, you feel threatened but I have it so much easier because what I witnessed is innocent families and innocent children starving and in poverty.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will pick up the slack.
Weary Australians trapped by the war in the Middle East arrived back to an emotional welcome at Sydney airport last night. More details coming up.
The Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, has announced there will be a parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people. It follows the Invasion Day rally attack in Perth and the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne last year by white supremacists. More details coming up.
