Australia politics live: ‘Labor knows it’s illegal’, Shoebridge says in heated debate on Iran strikes; ASX falls as oil price surges

Greens’ Shoebridge on Iran strikes: ‘Labor knows it’s illegal’

Greens senator David Shoebridge has accused Labor, the Coalition and One Nation of being the “three war parties”, and criticised the government for “rushing” to back the strikes on Iran.

Speaking on his amendment to the Coalition’s motion, Shoebridge doesn’t hold back, saying the three parties have “never seen an attack by Donald trump, an attack by Benjamin Netanyahu, that they haven’t wanted to back in and support”.

double quotation markWe have seen the Albanese Labor government to rush to be the first country in the world to back in Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest illegal war, literally rushing to back in a war that Labor knows is in gross breach of international law.

There’s a reason that the foreign minister has refused to discuss, even discuss, whether or not this war is illegal. It’s because Labor knows it’s illegal.

Shoebridge accuses the government and opposition of being “reckless” about the consequences of the bombing on the Iranian people.

double quotation markI can tell you that the mums who are pulling their kids out of the rubble, they don’t see freedom. They’re not talking about regime change. They’re grieving about the loss of their kids, their daughters.

They see through your endless support of war … they see their country potentially being thrown into chaos.

Updated at 01.54 CET

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Coalition motion on Iran to pass – with a carve-out

The government’s amendment also fails to pass, so now we’re down to the third vote, which is on the Coalition’s original motion.

But before we get to that, Katy Gallagher, the manager of government business in the Senate, asks the president to split the motion so part A is voted on separately to the rest of the Coalition’s motion. Which means there will now be two votes.

Part A of the Coalition’s motion states that the Senate:

double quotation markCongratulates the United States of America and the State of Israel for their sustained efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, acknowledging the longstanding threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs to regional and global peace and security.

i.e it appears that Labor will vote against that first part, but will then back the rest of the Coalition’s motion.

Labor’s motion would have replaced both parts A and B, but they’re now compromising.

Updated at 02.26 CET

Voting begins on Iran strike motion

After more than an hour and a half of debate on the issue, voting has begun on the Coalition’s motion and the Labor and Greens amendments.

The Greens amendment is voted on first – but fails as it’s not supported by the government or Coalition. Just independent senators Lidia Thorpe and Fatima Payman back the Greens amendment.

That amendment completely changed the wording of the motion, and called for Australia to withdraw support for Trump and Netanyahu’s “illegal war” and for the government not to provide any military support, including through joint bases in Australia.

Next the government’s amendment to the motion is now being voted on – and so far it looks like it might also fail as the Coalition, One Nation and the Greens move to vote against it.

Updated at 02.17 CET

‘Australia’s timid response to the US and Israel’s attack on Iran risks being seen as complicity,’ writes Donald Rothwell

double quotation markAustralia has been supportive of efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions and has made clear it will not mourn the death of Khamenei.

Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong’s statement that ‘I’ll leave it for the United States and Israel to speak of the basis, the legal basis for the attacks’ was cautious and suggested Australia was fence-sitting.

On one level this may seem reasonable as the onus clearly rests with the US and Israel to justify conduct which is a serious violation of the UN charter and an act of aggression. However, how other states react in situations like this matters, because silence or refusal to make a formal and clear statement can be interpreted as complicity.

Read international law professor Donald Rothwell’s analysis of Australia’s response to the US and Israel’s attack on Iran here:

Updated at 02.06 CET

Caitlin Cassidy

Early years maths curriculum to be reviewed after poor Naplan results

The way young students are taught numeracy is set to be overhauled after education ministers agreed to review the Foundation to Year 2 mathematics curriculum.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) had recommended the targeted review as part of a national effort to improve numeracy skills.

The review will focus on four areas: the prioritisation of mathematical content, clarity for teachers, specific content sequencing, and including explicit consumer and financial literacy content in the curriculum.

The latest Naplan data showed around one in three Australian students in Year 3 were not reaching “challenging but achievable numeracy standards”.

Acara’s CEO, Stephen Gniel, said given the poor findings, it was “right for us to have a national focus on numeracy improvement, including with the Year 1 Numeracy Checks coming into effect this year”.

The review will start this month, with advice and recommendations to be handed to education ministers in the third quarter of 2026.

Updated at 01.45 CET

Australian sharemarket falls as oil price surges

Luca Ittimani

The Australian sharemarket has slipped from its record high as war in Iran and rising oil prices raise fears of an world economic slowdown.

War has effectively closed a key shipping route for oil, the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices up 13%, from US$72.87 to US$80.20 this morning, according to Bloomberg’s measure of Asian trade in Brent Crude.

A US$1 rise in world oil prices roughly translates to an extra cent per litre for petrol at Australian bowsers, so if the increase holds, motorists could expect to pay nearly 10c more per litre.

Higher petrol prices mean less economic growth, weighing on markets and sending the benchmark S&P/ASX200 down 0.37% to 9,164.8 this morning as mining heavyweight BHP and the four big banks all fell. The ASX200 had closed at a record high of 9,198 on Friday.

Qantas has lost $900m from its market value, a 6% fall, as international airspace disruptions cruel Australians’ travel plans and leave hundreds of thousands stranded. Flight Centre has lost over $150m from its market value.

The energy sector is up 5%, led by oil and gas companies. Beach Energy is up 10%, Santos up nearly 7%, Woodside up more than 6%, with coalminers and petrol retailer Ampol also getting a boost.

Gold prices have surged to a new record high of over A$7,900, as traders look for a safe haven, sending six goldminers soaring 5% or more this morning. Weapons manufacturers Droneshield and Electro Optic Systems are up 10% and 13% respectively.

Updated at 01.28 CET

Greens’ Shoebridge on Iran strikes: ‘Labor knows it’s illegal’

Greens senator David Shoebridge has accused Labor, the Coalition and One Nation of being the “three war parties”, and criticised the government for “rushing” to back the strikes on Iran.

There’s a reason that the foreign minister has refused to discuss, even discuss, whether or not this war is illegal. It’s because Labor knows it’s illegal.

Shoebridge accuses the government and opposition of being “reckless” about the consequences of the bombing on the Iranian people.

They see through your endless support of war … they see their country potentially being thrown into chaos.

Updated at 01.54 CET

Randa Abdel-Fattah and Louise Adler speak at packed Adelaide event

Dee Jefferson

More than 1,000 people packed into Adelaide Town Hall last night to hear Randa Abdel-Fattah speak with former Adelaide writers’ week director Louise Adler at Constellations, an alternative festival organised after AWW was cancelled in the wake of the board’s decision to disinvite the Palestinian-Australian author and academic.

The packed event, emceed by South Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and introduced by journalist and press freedom advocate Peter Greste, was organised by the Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA).

While Hanson-Young condemned US-Israel strikes on Iran in her opening remarks, neither Adler nor Abdel-Fattah mentioned them. They focused instead on Abdel-Fatteh’s novel Discipline, which follows two Muslim characters – a young news reporter and a middle-aged academic – navigating censorship and racial politics in their workplaces as Israel’s assault on Gaza intensifies. Abdel-Fattah said:

double quotation markWhat I wanted to do with this book was to write a book that validated the experiences, the trauma, the struggles of young racialised journalists and academics who are working and living with the weight of the genocide on their shoulders.

Asked by Adler how she herself had coped – as a working mother, watching news from Gaza and being “relentlessly pursued” by sections of the media – Abdel-Fattah said her children were crucial. “When you’re with your kids, you’re not … the activist or the academic, you’re just Mum.”

Abdel-Fattah appears in conversation today with Yankunytjatjara poet Ali Cobby Eckermann as part of the Rivers of Reason program, which showcases Blak and Arab writers.

Randa Abdel-Fattah (right) speaks with Louise Adler during a conversation at Adelaide Town Hall on Sunday. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAPShare

Updated at 01.24 CET

‘The world cannot bomb its way to peace,’ Greens say

Here’s where we’re at now in the Senate:

Because the suspension of standing orders was supported by the Greens and Coalition, the Senate is now debating the Coalition’s motion welcoming the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran.

The government has just put forward its own amendments to the Coalition’s motion, and now the Greens are also putting forward their own amendments.

Once the debate is over, the motion and the two amendments will all be voted on – so the bells will be ringing for a little while!

With me so far?

So the Greens’ amendment go as follows: It completely changes the wording of the Coalition’s motion and notes that the Australian government was the first in the world to support Trump and Netanyahu’s “illegal attacks on Iran”, that the Iranian people are the victims, with hundreds already killed in Israeli and US bombings, and that the attacks have seen more Iranian people face “more violence, more hardship, more bloodshed and more fear”.

The amendment also calls on the government to withdraw support to “Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war with Iran”, “stop all intelligence and resources from Pine Gap, North West Cape and other US military assets in Australia assisting this illegal war”, provide permanent protection to people who have sought asylum by sea, many of whom are from Iran, and “acknowledge that the world cannot bomb its way to peace”.

Updated at 01.04 CET

Wong says 115,000 Australians her priority, not Cash’s motion

Wong, responding to Cash, returns serve against the criticisms levelled against her and says the 115,000 Australians “are my priority”, not Senator Cash’s motion.

She says the opposition only told the government that it would move its motion five minutes before the chamber began sitting, and if they were “serious” about debating the issue, they would have spoken to Labor about it some time between Saturday night and this morning.

She says “Australia stands with the people of Iran” and takes another swipe at the Greens for supporting the Coalition’s suspension of standing orders.

double quotation markWe’re not focused on the politics of this issue, we’re focused on the 115,000 Australians who are in the region.

Wong puts forward an amendment to the Coalition’s motion that removes the part that “congratulates” Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu over the strikes and welcomes the death of the Ayatollah.

Instead, Wong says those should be replaced to say the Senate supports efforts by the US and Israel to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, stands in solidarity with the Iranian Australian community, condemns the Iranian regime for its “decades of attacks and destabilisation of its neighbours”, and calls for dialogue and “the pursuit of diplomatic pathways to restore peace and security”.

Updated at 01.02 CET

Liberals and Greens pass motion, begin debate on US Israeli strikes

With the support of the Greens and members of the crossbench, the suspension of standing orders has been passed, which means the Senate can now debate the Liberals’ motion on the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Cash, who moved the motion, begins, and takes a strong swipe at the government for not supporting the motion.

You can see the full wording of the motion in the post below.

Cash says:

double quotation markThis is one of the most historic moments history will ever record, one of the most historic moments, and we come in here this morning and not only is there silence from the government but more than that, they do everything they can to shut the Senate down from properly debating this motion.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead. For decades he was the supreme authority of a regime that imprisoned dissenters, crushed protests slaughtered Iranians at home, empowered by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, in the Senate chamber on Monday morning. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 01.08 CET

Liberals and Greens vote to suspend standing orders

Back to the Senate, the Liberals and Greens have just voted to suspend standing orders – giving them a majority. One Nation and independents including David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe also voted in favour of the suspension.

It’s all very procedure-y but essentially what this means is that the current order of the day (which is planned by the government in advance) has been paused, so the Liberals can now bring forward their motion supporting the strikes on Iran.

The full motion states that the Senate:

(a) congratulates the United States of America and the State of Israel for their sustained efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, acknowledging the long-standing threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs to regional and global peace and security;

(b) welcomes the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a brutal dictator who has oppressed the Iranian people for decades, as a result of the American and Israeli attacks;

(c) reaffirms Australia’s rejection of any future Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons capability, recognising such an outcome would severely destabilise the Middle East and pose unacceptable risks to international peace and security;

(d) condemns in the strongest terms the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for its sponsorship of terrorism globally, including its role in orchestrating antisemitic attacks targeting Jewish Australians on Australian soil, acts which represent a direct attack on our social cohesion and national security;

(e) condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its use of state-directed violence and its support for proxy militant groups engaged in terrorist activities in multiple regions, undermining peace, stability and the rule of law;

(f) deplores the recent attacks by Iran on civilian infrastructure in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, including the suspension of operations at Dubai’s major airports due to regional hostilities, and condemns the IRGC for targeting civilian populations and civilian facilities; and

(g) expresses strong support for the Iranian people in their ongoing struggle against the IRGC.

Updated at 00.50 CET

Pauline Hanson to face censure motion over Muslim comments

Josh Butler

Later this morning, Pauline Hanson will face a censure motion in the Senate today, with Labor drafting a motion seeking to censure the One Nation leader for her recent comments about Australian Muslims.

Hanson told Sky News in February: “You say, ‘Well, there’s good Muslims out there.’ How can you tell me there are good Muslims?” The Queensland senator refused to apologise for the comments, standing by them in subsequent interviews, but later issued a partial apology if she “offended anyone out there that doesn’t believe in sharia law, or multiple marriages, or wants to bring Isis brides in, or people from Gaza that believe in a caliphate”.

Hanson is expected to face a censure motion today, drafted by Labor. The government motion states that Australia has been “built by the hard work, sacrifice and aspiration of people of every race and faith”, “assures all Australians they are valued, welcome members of our society”, and “rejects any attempt to vilify people on the basis of their religion”.

The motion states that the Senate “reiterates its solidarity with those who have been vilified because of their faith” and that “if parliament is to be a safe place for all who work and visit here, there can be no tolerance for hate speech in the course of parliamentarians’ public debate”. The motion calls on all senators to “refrain from inflammatory and divisive comments, both inside and outside the chamber”.

It goes on to call on the Senate to censure Hanson over “her inflammatory and divisive comments seeking to vilify Muslim Australians, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people”.

The motion is subject to change, debate and potential amendment. We will bring you more as this goes on.

We have approached One Nation for comment.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 00.21 CET

Luca Ittimani

House prices rising despite February’s rate hike

Dipping out of the Senate for a moment, Australia’s median house price picked up $7,324 in February, even though the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates and making loans more expensive to repay.

That 0.8% national increase was driven by a huge monthly increase in Perth, up 2.3% or an effective $22,500, according to Cotality data today. Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart each saw prices rise more than 1% in February.

Lower-priced markets are less responsive to interest rate rises, with the cheapest quarter of homes in Sydney matching the national increase of 0.8% in the month. The top-priced quarter of homes in Sydney fell 0.9%, leaving Sydney’s overall trend flat.

A similar dynamic played out in Melbourne – also steady, as we reported earlier. Cotality’s research director, Tim Lawless, said investors and first-home buyers were still competing for more affordable homes.

Lending has boomed 6% over the year to January for owner-occupied housing and nearly 8% for investor housing, according to data released by the Reserve Bank on Friday.

February’s interest rate hike would typically slow that pace, but loans have already been growing much faster than the RBA expected, with research suggesting a recent downward trend in banks’ typical mortgage rates is to blame.

Updated at 00.19 CET

Wong accuses Liberals of ‘political stunt’ in Senate

This debate is getting quickly heated, as foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, responds to Cash’s move to suspend standing orders (which would then allow her to move her motion on the strikes).

Wong accuses the Liberals of a “political stunt” by working with the Greens and Greens senator David Shoebridge to get the numbers to move the suspension.

Senate president Sue Lines starts screaming at Shoebridge, Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi and members of the Coalition for shouting out and attacking Labor while Wong speaks. Unlike the House, where the Speaker is allowed to kick out members for being disorderly, the Senate president does not have the same powers.

Wong says:

double quotation markThis suspension is not about national interest, it’s about political interest and you know how you most know that? Because you have this unholy alliance between Senator Cash and Senator Shoebridge.

Senator Cash and Senator Shoebridge together, what an extraordinary demonstration of the fact that they will do anything to engage in a political stunt while there is a war going on.

Wong says the motion will remove time from debate on Closing the Gap targets which were scheduled this morning.

Lines says the behaviour in the chamber is “outrageous”.

Updated at 00.19 CET

Cash moves motion welcoming strikes on Iran

The Liberal leader in the Senate, Michaelia Cash, as Tom brought you earlier, is moving a motion to suspend standing orders to move a motion on the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Cash says the Senate must not be a “procedural spectator” and that it should send a “clear signal” to the Australian public and global allies.

She says this is a historic moment that Australians are watching in real time. The motion “or their sustained efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon” and condemns the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

double quotation markIn moments like this when history is literally being made before our eyes the Senate cannot be a procedural spectator, this chamber must be able to respond immediately to put Australia’s position clearly on the record, and to send a clear signal to our allies and adversaries and to give certainty to Australians both here at home, including those that fled the Islamic regime and those abroad

The reason we must suspend standing orders is simple, this is urgent, Australians, the world globally are currently watching these events, some of the most historic events of our time, unfold in real time on our TVs.

Updated at 00.13 CET

Source

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today