The government has expressed alarm at the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. It comes as the prime minister makes his way to the G7 summit in Canada.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Well, the Prime Minister was actually in the air today on his way to Fiji when Israel struck
00:07Iran. But in the last little while, he's made his first comments, telling reporters that
00:12the government will be upgrading its travel advice to the region. Earlier, his Foreign
00:17Minister, Penny Wong, revealed that yesterday she met with Israel's ambassador to Australia.
00:23There were murmurings of something happening in the Middle East. And so ahead of that,
00:28Penny Wong met up with Israel's ambassador to Australia and urged the two parties to
00:33prioritise dialogue and diplomacy. We can see that that call was not heeded. The Prime Minister,
00:41Anthony Albanese, now says it's the United States that has a crucial role to play in peace in the
00:47region. Here's what he told reporters a little earlier. We are very aware of what has occurred
00:55and it is concerning any escalation in the region. My message to Australians is that the Department
01:03of Foreign Affairs and Trade are upgrading very soon the messages to Australians about warning
01:13about travel to the region. We want to see a dialogue. We, of course, are very conscious
01:21of the threat that Iran becoming a nuclear state would represent to peace and security in the region
01:28as well. We want to see these issues resolved through dialogue and the United States has been playing an
01:35important role there.
01:38And that was the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, speaking there on this issue of Israeli strikes
01:44into Iran a short time ago. Jen, actually, Anthony Albanese has met with the Fijian Prime Minister today.
01:50That's what he's there for. What was discussed?
01:54Yeah, he received a very colourful welcome as he landed here in Nandi on Fiji's resort-dotted west coast
02:00and then went straight off to a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Sidveni Rambuka.
02:06Now, Mr Rambuka is a person Mr Albanese describes as a friend and a great statesman of the Pacific.
02:11He has an influential voice here and he's considered by Australia to be an important partner
02:16as China really makes inroads here in the Pacific. We are in a time of great strategic competition,
02:24particularly in this Pacific region. And so really the point of Mr Albanese's visit here
02:29and his formal talks with the Fijian Prime Minister is to consolidate and cement Australia's relationships.
02:35Not necessarily about asking our Pacific partners to choose between China and Australia,
02:39but to ensure that Australia has strong partnerships and allies.
02:43And in fact, Mr Albanese, in his opening remarks, we haven't had a readout yet from the meeting,
02:48but from his opening remarks did make the point that he has come here to Fiji in the Pacific
02:54just six weeks after his re-election. So in his mind, making this region a priority.