Deflecting questions about Greens preferences is ‘classic Albanese'
Sky News senior reporter Caroline Marcus has dubbed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's deflection of questions related to Greens preferences 'classic Albanese'.
'It is literally on his how to vote cards, so he cannot use that excuse – but it is classic Albanese to deflect like that and somehow put the blame onto a reporter asking the question like it's their fault,' Ms Marcus told Sky News host Peta Credlin.
'I'm sorry, but this is a person who not only apparently represents everything Albanese has been talking about, the extremist Greens for the past year or two, but also stood at an anti-Israel protest holding an F Labor sign with fake blood on it.
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Sky News AU
15 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
'Dire consequences': Foreign Minister Penny Wong calls for urgent de-escalation in Israel-Iran conflict
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged both Iran and Israel to immediately de-escalate hostilities amid mounting fears of a wider regional war. Iran and Israel have continued to trade rocket fire over the weekend, after senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists were killed in targeted strikes. Ms Wong described the situation 'perilous' and said the Albanese government was urging restraint on all sides. 'Obviously this is a very perilous situation. It's a very risky situation,' she told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday. 'We urge de-escalation, we urge restraint, we urge dialogue and diplomacy, and that call has been reflected by like-minded and partners.' Ms Wong did not directly comment on Israel's initial pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, expressing a cautious stance on criticising its military actions. 'Israel has a right to self-defence. It does have a right to self-defence,' Ms Wong said. 'What I would say is the key issue is not, you know, 'Is there a threat?' There is. We all know that. 'It's whether or not in response to it we increase the risk of regional escalation and that would have dire consequences to the people of the region.' Her comments come after a deadly series of strikes and counter-strikes between Israel and Iran, triggered by Israel's bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities on Friday. Iran claimed the attacks killed senior military officials and scientists, and retaliated with more than 100 drones aimed at Israel. The violence escalated further over the weekend and Iran has accused Israel of striking the major Shahran oil depot northwest of Tehran. The Israeli Air Force confirmed it was 'attacking military targets in Tehran, in parallel with the activity of intercepting missiles launched from Iran'. Israeli Defence Force International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani also said the military was attempting to block Iranian strikes. "While the IDF is operating to intercept missiles launched from Iran, the IAF is currently striking military targets in Tehran," he wrote on X on Saturday night. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz took to social media to declare "Tehran is burning" not long after news broke of the attack on the oil facility. The conflict has sparked concern for various world leaders, including President Trump who confirmed he discussed the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The call lasted approximately one hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war (with Ukraine) should also end," he said. The Kremlin has confirmed the call took place between the two leaders, in which President Trump claims Putin wished him a happy 79th birthday. Kremlin spokesperson Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the risks of escalation. President Trump's comments mark the first time he has explicitly called for an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran since it began late last week. Iran said 78 people were killed on the first day of Israel's campaign, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Israel's ambulance service said a woman in her 20s was killed and 13 other people injured when a missile struck a two-story house in northern Israel. -with Reuters
SBS Australia
17 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Israel warns attacks on Iran are 'nothing' compared with what is coming, as conflict deepens
Israel pounded Iran for a second day on Saturday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign would intensify, while Tehran called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear programme possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Saturday morning, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as missiles and interceptors streaked across the sky. Early on Sunday, Israel's military said more missiles were launched from Iran towards Israel, and that it was also attacking military targets in Tehran. Iranian state television reported that Iran had launched missiles and drones at Israel. Several projectiles were visible in the sky over Jerusalem early on Sunday morning. Air raid sirens, which warn of a potential missile or drone attack, did not sound in the city but were heard in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Israel. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme at talks with Washington which had been scheduled for Sunday. Host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran partially suspended production at the world's biggest gas field after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on Saturday. The South Pars field, offshore in Iran's southern Bushehr province, is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran. Fears about potential disruption to the region's oil exports had already driven up oil prices 9 per cent on Friday even though Israel spared Iran's oil and gas on the first day of its attacks. An Iranian general, Esmail Kosari, said Tehran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz controlling access to the Gulf for tankers. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, focusing on hostilities between Israel and Iran and calling for efforts to bring them to an end. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the risks of escalation. Trump, in his account on Truth Social, said most of the discussion centred on the Middle East, but that he also told Putin that Russia's war in Ukraine should end. "Vladimir Putin condemned Israel's military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East," Ushakov told reporters. Ushakov said Trump described events in the Middle East as "very alarming". But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran's nuclear programme, Ushakov said. Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. However the UN nuclear watchdog reported it this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
SBS Australia
17 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Anthony Albanese to meet with Donald Trump on G7 summit sidelines
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he has a meeting scheduled with the United States President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 in the Canadian Rockies on Tuesday. The on-again off-again talks were being thrown into doubt by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, but are now expected to take place. It will be the first time the pair have met face to face, and the Prime Minister told reporters in Seattle he is looking forward to "constructive engagement". "I do expect to meet the president on the sidelines of the G7 meeting," he said. Anthony Albanese will use the opportunity to raise the AUKUS review being conducted by the Pentagon, and to highlight the contribution Australia is making to the defence industrial complex alongside its investment in the Perth shipyards to allow American submarines to use those facilities. The talks will also focus on securing better conditions for Australia under the Trump Administration's tariff regime. Underscoring the benefits of two-way trade, Anthony Albanese has made a joint announcement with Amazon Web Services, inside the famed Seattle Amazon Spheres, as the international business commits an additional $6.8 billion to fund data centres in Australia and confirms plans for three additional renewables projects in Australia to offset energy costs. This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
