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Albanese confirms three Australians on board US submarine that sank Iranian warship
Prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed three Australian submariners were on board a US submarine that torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Albanese spoke to Sky News this morning, saying:
We wouldn’t normally confirm such an issue … I can confirm that there were three Australian personnel on board that vessel.
I can confirm also though that no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran.
The attack by the US submarine killed at least 87 people.
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Krishani Dhanji
Coalition responds to confirmation Australians on board US submarine
The Coalition has responded to the government’s confirmation three Australians were on board the US submarine that downed the Iranian warship.
More than 50 Australian sailors and officers are serving across the US attack submarine fleet, a training regimen that is part of preparations for Australia to command its own nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus deal.
Shadow defence minister, James Paterson, wouldn’t say anything specific about Australian personnel being involved in the attack but said that the Aukus pact continues to have the Coalition’s “unqualified support”
The U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Australia’s national security and AUKUS is our most important defence project.
A critical part of delivering AUKUS is that Australian Navy personnel get first-hand experience serving on U.S. nuclear-powered submarines. It has the Coalition’s unqualified support.
Krishani Dhanji
Shoebridge says US submarine contravened Geneva conventions by ‘abandoning’ Iranian survivors on the high seas
Greens senator David Shoebridge says the US submarine that sank the Iranian warship with three Australians involved contravened the second Geneva conventions by “abandoning” the Iranian survivors.
Shoebridge said the Iranian warship, which was struck down near Sri Lanka, had been in the area for a “friendship visit” and was carrying low munitions.
While international law expert Don Rothwell has said the downing of the ship was legal, now that the US and Iran have begun engaging in armed conflict, Shoebridge said the US submarine should have helped the survivors:
The abandoning of the survivors to leave them to be picked up hours later by a Sri Lankan asset when there was no credible threat to the US nuclear submarine, that is clearly a contravention of the second Geneva convention.
If you sink a military asset. If it’s no longer a threat to you at the high seas, you have an obligation to rescue the survivors. And the United States, and with Australian personnel on board, grossly breach that obligation.
Krishani Dhanji
Shoebridge says Australian personnel involvement in conflict ‘inevitable’
Greens senator David Shoebridge has issued a scathing rebuke of the prime minister’s claim that “no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran” when three Australians were on board the US submarine that sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka.
Shoebridge, the Greens justice and foreign affairs spokesperson, said it was an “extraordinary” claim.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, Shoebridge said it was “inevitable” that Australians would end up involved in the conflict alongside the US, due to the Aukus partnership that has seen dozens of Australian defence personnel stationed on US submarines.
It is extraordinary that the prime minister, literally in the same sentence, said that Australian personnel were on a US nuclear attack class submarine that struck and sunk an Iranian frigate, but Australia is not directly involved in the war in Iran. These two facts cannot sit together in the same sentence.
It is as sure as day follows night that Australians throughout the US military are actively involved part of the United States and Israel’s illegal war in Iran.”
Shoebridge added that the involvement of the Australian personnel makes Australia “obviously, clearly, unambiguously, part of an illegal war, part of a war that is breaking down the norms of international law”.
Victorian pharmacists to provide pill without doctor’s script
More Australian women will be able to access the contraceptive pill without a script from a general practitioner in a bid to save time and money, AAP reports.
As Women’s Day approaches on Sunday, the Victorian government has given the green light for chemists to supply the pill to women over the age of 18 who have not had a doctor’s consultation.
Women have been eligible to go to certain Victorian pharmacies to get a resupply of the medication since 2023 under a trial.
But the state program will be expanded from 1 July so women can get their first script and supply at one of 850 participating pharmacies.
Trained pharmacists will still be required to conduct a consultation and outline any risks.
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, said the move would particularly benefit younger women and those in rural and regional Victoria.
Penry Buckley
NSW government won’t legalise e-scooters ‘until we’ve got the ebike situation under control’
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, has told budget estimates the government won’t legalise private e-scooters until it has addressed safety concerns about the use of ebikes.
The Minns government signalled in May last year that it would legalise e-scooters for over-16s on shared paths and bike lanes on roads – but not footpaths – at speeds of up to 20km/h, following a parliamentary inquiry into the use of e-micromobility devices.
It has yet to do so, but since then has been compelled to turn to ebike reform, amid safety concerns including a surge in injuries and an incident in which 40 or so ebikes swarmed the Sydney Harbour Bridge last month. It will introduce a minimum age to ride an ebike, and give police powers to crush overpowered bikes, changes which Graham says he expects by legislated by August.
The opposition has called for an ebike licence plate scheme, which the government is yet to support. Under questioning from the opposition transport spokesperson, Natalie Ward, Graham says the government will not make private e-scooters legal “until we’ve got the ebike situation under control”.
I think other cities have made [e-scooters] work. I just think it’s the wrong moment today to introduce them on to our streets. I think the public mood is … we should get the ebike share schemes under control. That decision has been made, those regulations are coming into force, and we should deal with some of the private e-bike issues that we’ve seen.
Private e-scooters are legal on roads and footpaths, subject to speed limits, in most Australian states and territories, excluding NSW and the Northern Territory. A shared e-scooter scheme is under way in NSW in Wollongong and Foster-Toncurry.
Empty seats on flights bringing stranded Australians home from the Middle East
There have been empty seats on the commercial flights commissioned to bring stranded travellers home to Australia from the Middle East, AAP reports.
Thousands of passengers have been stuck in limbo in Gulf transit hubs since the airspace was closed when the escalating US and Israeli air war against Iran began on the weekend.
The Australian government says it is working with the United Arab Emirates government to arrange a few commercial flights to get people home, and the first two left last night.
However, despite many people being stuck, the flights landing in Australia have not always been full as people are only getting a couple of hours’ notice from the airlines and some are hesitant to fly because of safety concerns.
The first two flights left last night: an Emirates plane touched down just before 11pm in Sydney, with another arriving in Melbourne about 6.20am this morning.
A third plane, from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, was due to arrive just after 9.30am.
Emirates is expected to operate another four flights from Dubai in the next 24 hours, while Etihad and Qatar Airways have tentatively scheduled a small number of flights that might not go ahead due to the closure of airspace.
Patrick Commins
Jim Chalmers consults with economists before May budget
About 30 of the country’s leading private sector economists have descended on the Treasury building in Canberra this morning, where behind closed doors they will hold forth on what they would do to fix the economy if they were in charge.
Jim Chalmers gave a brief opening address to the herd of dismal scientists (as the profession is often dubbed), telling them he wanted to hear their ideas for unleashing the economy’s productive capacity, a couple of months out from what the treasurer has said will be an “ambitious” budget.
Lifting productivity is a tricky, long-term endeavour, but it’s seen as a cure-all for what ails the economy, especially its ability to grow without adding to inflation.
Treasury officials, including the Treasury secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, are on hand for a talkfest spread across four sessions, during which time officials will also be keen to hear the economists’ view on the impact on inflation and growth from the US-Israel war on Iran.
Albanese said there’s ‘no question’ Iran war will have economic impact
The prime minister said Australia was not “immune” from the effects of the Iranian war, but said the country was well positioned to handle economic issues linked to the conflict.
He told Sky:
Our task is to be really clear about what Australia’s interest are, and what the interests of the world are in promoting a global peace, security and prosperity. …
There is no question that when you have a global event like this, it will have an economic impact.
Albanese added his priority in the short-term is getting Australians home safely.
Albanese confirms three Australians on board US submarine that sank Iranian warship
Prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed three Australian submariners were on board a US submarine that torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Albanese spoke to Sky News this morning, saying:
We wouldn’t normally confirm such an issue … I can confirm that there were three Australian personnel on board that vessel.
I can confirm also though that no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran.
The attack by the US submarine killed at least 87 people.
Patrick Commins
Aussie shares tank as oil prices jump again
The share market had heavy early losses, with the benchmark ASX 200 index opening 1.1% lower, after the overseas sell-off.
At 8,840 points, Aussie stocks are down a hefty 3.9% so far this week as investors digest the potential impact of soaring oil prices following the US-Israel attacks on Iran.
The global Brent crude price jumped nearly 5% overnight to trade at $US85.41 a barrel, about $US15 higher over the week.
Oil is on track for its biggest weekly gain since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to Bloomberg.
The only segment of the local share market in the green is energy stocks, which are up more than 7% in early trade as investors factor in a boost to profits from the energy market ructions.
Paul Dalton, an investment director at fund manager Federated Hermes, said a “sell-first-ask-questions-later mentality” had taken hold.
“Clearly this is a fast-moving situation with a wide range of possible outcomes and hard-to-predict implications for the global economy and financial markets,” Dalton said.
“The key uncertainties remain the future of the Iranian regime, the duration of the conflict and the degree to which it may escalate.”
The Aussie dollar is hanging in there, fetching just over US70 cents, reflecting in part the increasing chance the Reserve Bank will need to hike interest rates over coming months.
