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Liberal senator says military assets should be used ‘if necessary’ to repatriate Australians
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, says the Middle East is a “challenging” environment for commercial airlines to fly in, with airports in the region being struck by Iran.
If those commercial options are not available, then every other option needs to be considered, including using ADF assets to repatriate Australians if that’s necessary.
We have used military planes to evacuate Australians from conflict zones. And if that’s necessary in this instance, if it’s possible in this instance, then obviously the government will have our bipartisan support.
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.
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.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/mar/05/australia-politics-live-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-parliament-question-time-labor-coalition-one-nation-middle-east-mark-carney-canada-iran-ntwnfb
Author : Krishani Dhanji
Publish date : 2026-03-04 21:14:00
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