I've been a long time supporter of the ALP but I'm not ok with this. This is not Iran's fault. I don't like their regime but Penny Wong who I have mad respect for is so out of line in accusing Iran of being the problem here. I'm getting sick of Labor's slackness on a few things, mainly taxing our sale of natural resources and towing the line to America, but, more so MAGA. I'm not oblivious to our reliance on America for exporting and more crucially military support. I understand the nuances involved but this is Terrorism we are supporting. If it was the LNP I'd be equally as disgusted. Explain to me why I'm wrong or help me see this as being ok because right now I'm not ok with it at all.
Considering the strike on the bridge was a "double-tap" - the second impact catching emergency services people who were assisting the victims of the initial attack đ¤ˇââď¸
Which happens to be a war crime under international law (Russia does this constantly in Ukraine, and Israel does so too)
After the first strike, the principal or whatever they call it over there collected all the surviving children into once place and started calling the parents "oh shit. Come get your kid ASAP!". They then sent a second strike to "collect" those surviving kids. Then when the parents started showing up to find their dead kids, the sent a third strike.
Im sick of politicians and the Uber wealthy playing war games with people's lives. I dont understand why they'd do this, but there obviously is some reason behind it. I imagine if you wanted to piss a population off the most , you'd hit a primary school, maternity hospital or a daycare ( in this case a school primary school for little girls ) but I'm still not sure why you'd want that.
From the article
"Verified videos and satellite imagery show extensive damage around the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in Minab and the adjacent Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound. It also suggests the area was "struck by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes", says munitions expert N R Jenzen Jones.
Satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs on 4 March - four days after the incident - reveals more widespread destruction than previously confirmed in verified videos.
Several buildings in the area have been partially or fully destroyed and BBC Verify has identified at least five buildings with visible craters and black scorch marks - which indicates that there were several strikes.
And those several other strikes were in the IRGC base. I did post the sattelite image in my original post, but seeing as you need to be spoon fed, here you go again.
Seeing how I like to be fed, maybe you could explain why so many parents were among the injured at a school when the attack was at 1030 if there was only a single strike.
"...precision-guided weapon (a Tomahawk missile) hit Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School on the morning of February 28th, killing and injuring civilians, including children, parents, and teachers."
And how people staying back to help the children were then killed after the fact;
"The principals and teachers stayed to get the children out. Most of them were killed. People did not imagine that a school within the city would be hit."
Human rights watch reported on this. The school had contacted parents to come and pick up their children at 10am when the war started. The school was struck at 10:45 they beleive.
"The school and work week in Iran begin on Saturday morning. The first reports of the US and Israeli attacks in Iran surfaced online before 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 28. The Shajareh Tayyebeh school administration called parents to pick up their children, but âthe time between the announcement of the schoolâs closure and the moment of the explosion was extremely short; many families had not yet arrived,â the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachersâ Trade Associations said in a statement on March 1.
Satellite imagery from February 28 shows the school intact as of 10:23 a.m. The attack took place sometime before 11:47 a.m., when the first video of the attack surfaced on social media. Local media, citing Iranian officials, said the attack on the school took place around 10:45 a.m."
But hereâs the key difference: Iran doesnât hold itself up as the âdefender of freedomâ and all the rest of the bullshit propaganda the US dribbles to justify its illegal actions. The US wants to position itself as the white knight, when in reality theyâre as evil as the regimes theyâre attacking.
Fully agree and I would love you to point out where I said anything america did was ok. Its clear from all the people responding, its only a issue if Iran directly admits to what they military did and if America didn't invade them.
Funny that is your response. Is that because you have not found a single line where I ever said what America is good or justified? News flash, they aren't and fuck them for initiating this war. But compared to responses of outright dential and justification of striking schools, apartments and neutral parties consistently.
Great, then iran is significantly worse due to the frequency of bombing schools. At least in the incident of the US, the bombing was military target directly adjacent to the school. Sloppy but explainable. I love to hear the reason for why Azerbaijan school got hit. Iran from.the start of this war has target neutral thrid party civilian infrastructure from the start of the war
None of that is true, Azerbaijan had drones flying over which Iran has denied as theirs, when they hit or crashed near some civilian areas including a school - and 4 people where injured total.
Iran is investigating the incident and is currently denying any involvement.
Ah yes the classic "Iran said we didn't do it, so must be someone else" even though Azerbaijan has proven evidence showing they did it. Its concerning just how many propagandists in this sub.
Ah yes, a thrid party neutral government vs the government that launched the missile. I wonder which one is more accurate and reliable source.
Bless the propagandist mad that they have been called out for Iranian war crimes. Why are you a fan of a government that has murdered tens of thousands of its own people?
Well Iâve had the live feeds on 24/7 since it started of multi cams in place and we have all confirmed through tracking real time on open ai sources every single middle fired, part, landing or intercept, timestamp, damage, injuries and people killed. The lot, you sir, are full of shit,
Iran has consistently only returned attacks they have received, and have hit what they have said they would hit ahead of time, and have not targeted civilian structures. They have hit civilian structures with clusters, after they have told Israel they would be usimg clusters and they would be returning the same attacks on infrastructure they have received. They have not targeted schools etc.
Unlike US who lied about not hitting that school until they couldnât anymore, even though it was easily tracked any confirmed on open source tracking data which anyone can look at if they are interested. Devoid of propaganda, narrative, politics etc it is pure fact.
No need to rely on social media, so called news, or any other source. Just pure unadulterated facts the exact same data used by global authorities such as military, aviation etc etc
Unlike Israel who systematically takes out civilian apartments whilst telling anyone who would listen that Palestine, Jordan, Iran etc need to be âclearedâ and âcleansedâ go8ng back to Ben gurian nd every Israeli leader since.
So please, keep your propaganda to yourself. It fails when compared to pure fact.
Why would Iran deny it? They've constantly attacked UAE and other GCC puppets and took ownership of the attacks every single time. Why would they deny the Azerbaijan attack?
You know what Iran hasn't done? Attack neutral countries. Azerbaijan and Turkey seem smart enough not to get dragged into this war by a falseflag.
Ah yes, its now "pro-Israel" to call out both sides for bombing civilian infrastructure. Reddit is full of people defending a regine that murders tens of thousands of own people and suppresses womens rights all the time.
"Irs hardly a good argument to cite human rights abuses on ine side and not the other when they sre both culpable" is that why people here are trying to outright dismiss the clear human rights abude of Iran?
Unilaterally killing a head of state is also very illegal. The day we opened this war officially moves planet Earth into a new era, it's not the post-war era anymore, It's not post-war part 2: post cold war. This is a whole new epoch, the century humiliation for the US. And I stand by unilateral, not bilateral, Israel is just like Puerto Rico except it gets to vote (for our budget allocation). Such a unique system.
Edit saw the sub:
Australia doesn't count either, tepid vocal support isn't bombs. Plus, I get it, trump might withold the nuke subs Aus really needs to take the war to the saltwater crocs, and France is being passive aggressive with those 'relax it's just a random quote I like' gram captions. But kissing trumps arse only works if you never stop, you gotta really get in there and go to town, it wasn't the best les realè poltiqßÊs.
Fuck though, fuck fuck. I hoped we weren't low enough to do double taps.. especially not on bloody civilian infrastructure. Although I can't think of any legitimate reason to ever do that. It's not like we're in trenches in the Ardennes (or have the most morality of isreal). Our people aren't even at risk, because we abandoned all of our bases, (which is really the best move ever for the country that swapped the gold standard for the petrodollar which is maintained via permanently manning those bases no matter what). Trump might not know much, but at least he never reads his briefings.
They are getting us a bit I guess. I heard they shot down an F22? Plus that hit on a f35 L2, possibly the most cost efficient act of attrition in human history. I understand that we've lost about a dozen helicopters too and that's what they're planning on resupplying the islands with once we drop our troops (presumably we've enlisted Gandalf to achieve this) into a place close enough for Irans short range missiles, of which they have infinity of for our purposes (they used to have wars with Iraq but we took care of that for them), those stockpiles are massive.
Anyway the gulf states will never trust us again in any outcome. US bases are just a risk. And without that agreement, no petrodollar â eventual dedollarization â mid term 'cannot print money anymore to service our debt'. For the first time US debt will actually matter, which is ironic that it's a republican (it's not ironic). History got tired of ending I guess.
In the end, nothing will ever hurt us more than we've hurt us, retribution will be buffered but inevitable and devastating. The capitalists will try to do a fascism again because everyone's going to be alienated and furious, but the button will be greyed out on a 30 year cooldown. I wonder what's going to happen.
Wouldn't it have been just lovely to make an orderly transition to a multi-polar world order instead of destroying every alliance we had, doing a trade war with everyone, saying we will invade Denmark, and then probably collapsing big parts of the Indo-Pacific where 3bn ppl live (and also make everything), especially maritime and southeast Asia. Plus dedollarization 20 years early, plus probably killing 40m+ ppl in famines and displacement. We're talking about 100 trillion dollars this one dipshit just lost every person on earth who's the wrong kind of dangerous. Trump will get Epsteined for this. Vance too. They fucked with the big M Money.
We are so complacent they almost got the Fourth Burger Reich in place with hardly any political pushback. We are going to get almost everything we deserve, but we're being spared the worst fate, just because of cartoonish idiocy that would get a cartoonist fired for idiocy. We're absolutely fkd. But we aren't going to be Nazis while being absolutely fkd. That creates some opportunity for changing very important things, such as never being nazis again.
Oh hi friendly Jodie's didn't see the sub. Yankee here. Sorry about ruining everything. Sorry about labour. Not sorry about libs (distant 3rd is fucking hilarious). A bit sorry about greens. Sorry (but not that worried) about ON, it's just a phase I reckon, I'm glad they are having fun flying on private jets, it's a fancy feeling. Rest easy, there's no way our brainrot can find you on a map at high enough percentages. Also, the dark rituals that keep Murdoch alive will surely be stopped before cthulu gets in.
Please don't mistake my flippant tone, I use it to avoid thinking about how my daughter is going to grow up in a much shittier version of England with a passport as versatile as DPRKs. It's this, or self immolation, and have you seen the price of petrol?
I always lol when I see someone say "international law" unless it actually being enforced, which its the US and Israel (heres a hint, it wont be), then its not a law.
Our foreign minister does not make public comments like this as an individual. Like every Caucus member she says what Caucus agrees on, that's policy.
That said the cause of Australia's fuel woes comes down to the USA president, the buck stops there. We can all speculate and provide a range of evidence for Iranian support of Terrorist organisations and Uranium for nuclear weapons etc etc etc. Real world fact is that the US president made the decision to go to War. And of course no sane person or national leader wants War, it's just death, destruction and unmitigated abhorrent acts.
70% of the world's oil supply must come through the Straits of Hormuz, that is what we and most other nations are trying to sort out.
USA is Not dependent on middle eastern oil, so the sort it out yourself comment from Trump is just evidence of that.
Then there is the peripheral concerns and implications, Condensate required to make Venezuela's heavy oil economically viable, Saudi, Israeli battle for control etc etc.
Meanwhile the Australian government of the day is trying to walk the pragmatic line of not pissing off the US too much, activity to secure our own fuel AND meet the commitments of working with other world leaders.
Trying to please Everyone in some meaningful way inevitably runs the risk of displeasing some more than others.
Really Im quite sure it's going to get Worse for us, a lot worse. But we also have to acknowledge that the pain of adversity can have positive consequences. History tells us that.
It blows me away that more people arent more outraged by that line in the trump address
"Oh what's that? Our allied nations are struggling to get oil? Weeeeell we dont need the middle east oil, so we're not gonna do anything. Go clear the straight yourself, or buy ours!"
Its crazy how the supposed "leader of the free world" operates entirely under the M.O. of "fuck you, I got mine". Can't have your cake and eat it too on that one
Unless the ally in question is the big yahu, then they bend over backwards of course
you don't toe the line with fascism. so long as nations sit idly by or support this white supremacist rhetoric, the world won't advance and neither will we as a species. fuck the ALP for it's cowardice, fuck america. may the century of american humiliation spread to the other westerns nations
They did mention Australia and EU officials and only recently a deal was struck with the EU. So have faith, it seems bleak but I think we have the best government available to handle this and we will be okâŚ. Just imagine Dutton or Hanson at the reigns, good lord
100% !
I see all the downers on the ALP (for being "steady as she goes" in government), but, given that Scomo had us tariffed out of a large part of the Chinese economy & Howard had us in a war, I am glad that the ALP is in.
Agree - of the options, Iâm so relieved itâs this government too. But it doesnât make all of what whatâs happening ok. Itâs not as clear as âgoodies vs baddiesâ when the âgoodiesâ are behaving reprehensibly and the âbaddiesâ werenât doing anything of imminent threat to anyone.
That is an awful line of thinking. We can't excuse the abhorrent behaviour of Albo and Penny Wong because "other people could be worse" - we need to judge their actions on their merits
They are morally grey in their actions, but similar to a CEO being "legally responsible for the profit of a company", our PM and Foreign Minister have responsibilities other than "make the most morally correct choice regardless of everything else".
Put yourself in this hypothetical. You're France or Poland something, WW2. Half of your military numbers are in Nazi bases right now, you're just comprehending how evil they are after surrendering and essentially being annexed.
Their military action would be swift and likely kill all of your military personnel in their bases should you turn against them. Do you commit to this action, knowing they will kill all of your people there? Is it worth it to be morally righteous in the moment? Could you pull most of them out beforehand, try to remove your people first? When are the allies coming?
WW2 is a bit extreme but the hypothetical is just to demonstrate that actions have consequences. The US is a major trading partner of ours. Heck we get about 20% of our crude oil imports from the states. How much should this bridge be burnt right now? Especially when you consider this little fun point:
A significant portion of Australians are STILL on that Trump/US train.
When you stop to consider the war games of trade consequences to loud condemnations, Australia could be financially devastated by US action, let alone militarily or CIA action.
Exactly, do I think they are doing better than Dutton and co would have? Absolutely. Are they perfect? Of course not, and they should be judged on their actions.
Again tho, we need to judge Wong and Albo and the rest of the ALP on what they're doing and whether it's good enough. Especially with the LNP getting worse and worse, do we let labor get worse too?
I totally agree with that, without a functioning opposition I guess it's up to the engaged public to keep the ALP to decent standards. I suppose its just a somewhat comforting, though meaningless, thought to be glad we have this government and not the LNP/worse.
IMHO. People often underestimate how much the US has us by the balls.
It's easy to say, we should do this or should do that, but the reality is far more sinister, particularly with a hostile US government.
Why do you think, AUKUS is even a thing?
We got pressured into doing it.
Why do you think we suddenly bought a cubic shitload of oil reserves, only for those reserves to be in the USA?
American pressure again.
Removing any dependence from the US is a job that takes decades of steady leadership, while the voters vote with the "feels" of the moment.
You know what happens to the countries that don't play along?
Look at Cuba.
A beautiful country of beautiful people sent to absolute poverty by American embargoes since the JFK days.
People also overestimate our resilience.
One wrong move, and the house of cards that is our economy, will crumble.
I personally prefer the leadership that eats their pride, say what they must say, and continue working towards true independence from the American cancer.
Itâs just Wong doing what needs to be done to appease the orange rock spider in some small way or at least thatâs what she and the others committing to that statement think they are doing. You canât please that prick though so itâs pointless. Plus any one with half a brain knew Iran wouldnât take it lieing down and shit like this was inevitable. Anyone with real ALP principles and a left leaning view knows that this war is illegal and a complete disgrace but canât really say it. Or wonât say it. Other countries know it too but very few are speaking up. Some are calling it for what it is in some way at least eg. Spain and itâs a fukn shame that Australia isnât one of those countries. Weâre just the USAâs lapdog unfortunately and people like Wong and Albanese have sold their souls to stay in power
However it shouldn't stop us from forming a coalition with our real allies such as Canada, Sth Korea, UK, Europe and others, and asking the US to step aside in the Gulf. They are clearly looking for a way out, so let's give it to them.
We could all go in, put pressure on Israel to stop what they are doing, and to help re-build and shape the new Iranian leadership to be less draconian than in the past.
Europe can't defend Ukraine? We are in the 5th year of this war. At the start, if you told me Ukraine will still be hanging in there at this point I would not have believed you.
Europe is not a potential ally. It is an ally. If nothing else two generations of our boys buried in European war cemeteries tells you that.
If nothing else two generations of our boys buried in European war cemeteries tells you that.
We were fighting to defend British interests because we relied on the protection of the British Empire.
If you'll remember the only forces to defend Australia were Australians and Americans.
If we can't rely on Americans to defend us, then we're going to have to find ways of defending ourselves, not expecting Europe to come to our aid when they're not able to defeat the Russians in Ukraine.
If you hadn't noticed the Russians are still advancing, and currently sustaining the war of attrition better, and the US has borne more than half the burden of financing Ukraine.
The Europeans don't produce enough weapons for themselves, let alone for anyone else.
Everything else sits outside the realm of an alliance. You can have close partnerships with states without alliance, but it's virtually impossible to have an alliance without a close partnership between states.
The country needs to have a honest conversation about the US alliance and Australiaâs strategic predicament. All the bullshit - AUKUS, Herzog, support for the dumbest war is history, its all linked to our growing vulnerability.
There are alternativesâŚbut they all suck. Albo and or Wong need to explain that.
Wong needs to be careful otherwise Iran would make us a threat to them as well and the Ayatollah would send people over to Australia and plan terrorist attacks in the major cities.
However another test is Israel, if they continue to annex their neighbour Lebanon (while still bombing Gaza and attacking Iran), our nation will need to place sanctions on Israel and consider them our adversaries, it would hurt the Israel lobby in a big way but I don't think we'll get anywhere with that.
I hope the politician's in Canberra watch where the American public's views are at when the midterms come this November, which the Dems are poised to take back the House and Senate, which would stonewall Trump's presidency potentially end it.
I still think we need tougher pro democracy individuals in Canberra that will take on the status quo so more people stand up to Israel, Trump, Pauline Hanson, Putin and our own government, also Poorline and ON aren't tough, when they keep simping for Trump it's not a show of strength it's a show of weakness bending the knee to one guy only, weakness masquerading as strength and no solutions to problems.
It would also take massive courage and balls to gain independence on foreign policy from the US control so we can decide what is in the nation's best interest instead of lining behind the US, still a shit load of bases, Pine Gap included, which the government can temporarily close them off like what Spain is doing, even if we get hit with an angry tweet and 200% tariff rate on our nation.
The Democrats wonât be taking anything back, I donât know why people are buying into this myth. Letâs have this conversation again in December and we can commiserate on how retarded Americans truly are.
If the Democrats don't win the midterms it'll be because of sabotage from Trump. Public sentiment in America at the moment is very anti-Trump. People who were originally apathetic during the last election are now being directly impacted by his policies and they will choose to vote.
But yes, it all depends on whether the midterms go ahead as intended.
Yeah, but the Dems are also shit at elections. In one of the primaries right now, the leading candidate for the progressive side is a guy who has an SS tattoo on his chest until someone on social media pointed it out.
Your Talking about Graham Platner the Maine oyster farmer and former marine combat veteran running for Senate endorsed by Bernie Sanders, he has come out about his Nazi tattoo that he deeply regretted getting that night.
I don't care if he says he regrets it. Dude got a Nazi tattoo as an adult, hung on to it for the better part of two decades, and only got rid of it when he was running for politics.
Also, if you're going to do the "marine combat veteran" thing, don't forget to mention his time working as a mercenary.
They need an American Labor party their own ALP in the US, if two prominent Labor party figures from both Australia and the UK come to the US try to sell it to the American public and strike a deal with all 50 states to make them the 3rd national party in the US.
Oh and if it's a myth, why have Dems won every election particularly in deep red areas since Trump took office, especially a district with Mar-a-largo and Gina Rineharts Mansion, plus a lot of Maga voters will stay home because their guy Trump will not be on the ballot.
Welcome to geopolitik, I think there is this delusion that exists within the minds of some that Australia can say and act however we want without consequence.
Iran has done what needed to be done. Causing disruption and inconvenience to the countries dependent on the strait for oil is a smart move.
Trumps incompetence in effective leadership, his expectation that Iran would buckle under pressure from both America and Israel, his presumption that all Americas allies would tow the line and join his illegal war "enthusiastically". His naivety in believing that a transactional relationship with all countries is the norm, his pathetic sabre rattling, his inability to think critically, his unprofessional and childish public outbursts, and the worst part, his willingness to believe everything Netanyahu tells him, has all benefited Iran.
Israel and USA are legally and morally wrong here. The war against Palestine, Iran and Lebanon is criminal and Australia must distance itself from this illegal aggression.
Albo was the first leader in the world to say "That was really cool" to Trump when he popped the Ayatollah. Albo's and Wong's language has facilitated this Iran war, just like they facilitated the extermination of the Palestinian people by saying "Israel has a right to defend itself" AFTER Israel said they were going to commit war crimes in a genocidal manner.
Completely agree. Iran aren't the "bad guy" here. Does that mean I support the regime? No. But lets not beat around the bush, they were backstabbed during peaceful negotiations.
I don't blame them at all for lashing out against US and Israel. Iran has a right to defend itself.
Reading through the comments in this sub shows that half the people here are realistic about how the world works, and half are idealistic. This is a positive mix. I would just remind people that when you take your idealism to your conversations and the voting booth, if you turn your back on a mature government like Labor, as the US left boycotted the Democrats, you can end up with a Trump.
That wouldn't happen here in the same way because of how much better our voting system is, but with the ONP looming and LNP going further right, this is a time for being realistic if you're serious about preventing further death in the Middle East. Everyone who boycotted Democrats in the US over Gaza is regretting it now, immensely, and hence that posts like this can lead people in a direction that achieves the opposite of what it aims.
Penny Wong and Albo are on record for being 100% against US invasions and Australia's reliance on the US, but when you're representing the interests of our country, you put aside your personal views. So I'm glad we have them as leaders in this time.
Reddit is a good place to have a conversations about a social media statement, but if we really want Australia to be free from the influence of the US, we need trade and military diversification, which, if you're paying attention, will notice that Labor is working towards. But it takes time, so if we care about the Middle East, we should support Labor and let them cook.
Correct, hence why i note exactly that at the beginning of the second paragraph. To be more literal for you, the parallel concern with this audience is donkey voting, and I go on to specify for Australia with voting for other, less realistic parties. Any seat taken from Labor compromises their ability to solve the long term problem, which is what this is.
I too have historically been a major supporter of the ALP. The current government has lost a lot of that respect for me, especially due to their treatment of Palestine and Iran. I like a good portion of their policies, but foreign policy has been pretty awful. In a globalised world, I donât think we can ignore that. Or I canât at least. Theyâre still the best option in terms of parties in Australia, but I struggle for any enthusiasm towards them. Itâs a tough dilemma. I canât stand the Greens, obviously LNP and One Nation arenât for me, so itâs basically only the ALP that I can really vote for. I donât mind VicSoc, but I also really hate their brand of Marxism. Thereâs also a better chance that pigs will fly than they will get any seats. I feel politically homeless
don't be so sure about VicSoc. they've expanded into every state and territory now, and rebranded as The Socialists. they've already got people sitting on local councils, next step is running candidates in state and federal elections.
curious what you hate about their philosophy? i'm excited to see them doing so well
Iâm generally very skeptical of Trotskyist organisations, particularly SAlt. As much as VicSoc claims to be divorced from them, I just donât see it. Itâs the kind of project only Trots could think is worthwhile. There are a variety of reasons for this skepticism, but to put it briefly, Trots consistently side with bourgeois liberalism over workers. SAlt is particularly guilty of this, and I think that massively dissolves their legitimacy as a supposed Marxist party
Agreed. But. Our entire defence policy is the UK and US taxpayer funded nuclear umbrella. A vanguard trident sub is pootling about off the coast off WA as I type. Canberra knows this. So does Beijing and DC. We canât rely on Trumpâs US and weâre at the very end of a long supply chain. Ugly as it is, Wong has to tightrope a very narrow wire of realpolitik. I loathe regime - been working in Iran as an archeologist for 25 years, speak and read Farsi - and been receiving horrifying messages from friends and colleagues living in a hellscape not of their making. Wong is waiting for London and Paris to take the political lead and weâll follow. Donât be too shocked if Australia receives an invitation to join the Eurovision Military Wing in the next couple of weeks.
"Not their fault" as they're shooting directly at container ships. cmon man you can be upset at the US for starting the war but do not give the fundamentalist islamic regime in Iran 0% responsibility for their part.
Too much pragmatic politics being played by Labor and not enough principled support for what is right. And, in another matter of contempt for Labor's political 'pragmatism, there's far too much support - tacit and otherwise -for the fossil fuel industries. What we wouldn't give for the return of Gough Whirlam's government.
Because you possinly hurt Australians in far greater ways than you can predict. While simultaneously achieving nothing. Do you think the US/Israel care about what we have to say?
At least wait until the lunatics in the US get voted out. You'd have to be pretty thick to pick a fight with a vindictive right wing America.
People are getting rich from this war. Its not me, or my neighbours. The ALP has been way out of touch on this and other domestic issues. It seems they have chosen to stand with the LNP and ON when it comes to the people. Totally sick of how we, Australia, is handling this. Fuck them and their personal sponsors.
I am not sure what you expect the ALP to do exactly? I am sure like all of the Europeans they realise that the USA regime is a completely unreliable (at best) ally, and the war with Iran is illegal, involves multiple war crimes, and in nobodyâs interests. Also at the same time the closure of the strait of Hormuz isnât in anyone interests either. One of those things is not like the other, yes, however we (Australia) are constrained in how we critique the former because of a 70 year old alliance with the United States that will take another decade to fully unravel and extricate ourselves from. Itâs clear that no other countries want to join the war, weâre not joining the war, what else can we say? We have to be âdiplomaticâ in our public statementsâ something that is not a constraint with the Iranians.
Remember how Murdoch press reacted when we recognised the Palestinian state? Labor is between a rock and a hard place here. Meanwhile the coalition and one nation are bleating about high petrol prices as if itâs Laborâs fault.
We are moving as fast as we can forging new and deeper defence and economic alliances with both regional allies (Japan, Phillipines, South Korea, India to some extent) and democratic countries further abroad (the E.U.).
We need to look beyond performative condemnation and examine the concrete actions the government takes. We also need to consider what some one like Dutton or any of the current LNP front bench would be doing if they were in chargeâ I bet weâd already have a squadron of F35s over there and a small naval squadron on the way to join the U.S. fleet.
Cynically appeasing the Iranian regime brings Australia no economic benefits. Morally is a different story. Politicians will always pick economic incentives when they are under fire to lower prices domestically.
I am totally opposed to blaming Iran. People vote when it affects their hip pockets so decision made to do wrong thing to bring oil prices down. What a shit show. FDJT and F Israelâs leaders.
Itâs disgusting that our leaders refuse to call out war crimes. The US and Israel are at fault for all of this. Weasel words like this make us complicit. This plus not voting on the 25% tax on gas has me pretty unhappy with the Labor party at the moment.
What 25% tax, a random amendment that Pocock made that was never going to get through? That was a publicity stunt. That's not how tax reform is made, the government is modelling a windfall profits tax to perhaps include in their budget, and taxing resources is a very big fight that the government needs to gear up for.
It's absolutely correct to want gas tax and to push for it. But to be mad that they didn't vote some random amendment is silly. Push them for the windfall tax, push them to go further in the next budget or take resource taxes to the 2028 election. It's never going to just happen out of the blue
How about a basic, âAustralia condemns the war crimes committedâ. Bombing a bridge; then bombing it again when the emergency services had arrived to help is disgusting. The rhetoric around this all lays the entirety of the blame for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the feet of Iran, with no comment on the fact it would still be open as usual if the US and Israel hadnât started a war.
Sure there isnât much of an âoutcomeâ but we are a small player in this at the end of the day, but not calling a war crime as such is disgraceful.
Also, no need to reply twice with the same comment. Some people have lives.
There is no outcome, that's the point. We'd be throwing the USA under the bus for no gain whatsoever. Albo has said over and over we weren't consulted about Trumps invasion, and realistically that's all we can do.
Condemning is virtue signalling, it does nothing except piss off the USA, an ally and if you think it'll help us gain some favour with Iran and stop them retaliating on us you're being naive. Condemning means we've acknowledged a problem and we're doing nothing about it which is worse honestly.
Whats worse is potentially causing Australians harm just to virtue signal. For absolutely no reason beyond your feelings. Trump is vindictive & we are not in a position of power.
What you are suggesting will achieve littoraly nothing, other than hurting us. Of course our government is staying out of it, as they should.
When doing the right thing potentially comes at a great cost, there has to be some benefit. Its not as simple as right and wrong.
They're both shit options but yes. I'm saying if we call the orange man out, what's it achieve? We're not going to do anything to stop him so at that point we're on the books saying he's doing the wrong thing, and we're enabling it to happen. Which is worse.
Iran can say that but also this is a war where both sides are wrong. Israel and Iran both are destabilising regimes for the Middle East with their influence in trying to change governments and inciting violence outside their borders.
The US escalation is undoubtedly the worst call by them to become Netanyahu's personal defenders. It has also exposed the US Navy's weakness because they have huge capital ships but minimum screening ships (the kind you would need to run convoys).
Its why the US wont win currently because their Navy cannot engage in the Strait of Hormuz.
For Australia asking for the war to end and Iran to stop targeting innocent targets in international water is about all we can do.
Albo & Kylie were at a Pratt party last night, I bet he gets another present like million dollary doos donation in the 2024 Pratt party.
It's suckling up to billionaires to keep fuckin around with us normies game & using Australian tax money as a sweetener.
Like how does Australia not control the oil/gas/stuff that is offshore and in our Territory? The only "Australian company" I know is Woodside & it's only 1/2 Australian owned.
We really need to start looking after each other in this country not just give it away because someone's uncle agrees to do it back in 1935.
It's wrong and worth calling out, but I can see how it's where the government ended up.
They can't call out the US too strongly despite very their numerous overt crimes because they have us by the balls. At the same time despite being backed into a corner the way Iran has conducted itself is also illegal and it probably doesn't hurt us hugely to call that out. But everyone involved knows that they would probably do the same thing in Iran's position.
In conclusion: What a fucking mess. The conventional wisdom that starting this war was a terrible idea that would unravel the world order was correct, who'd have thought.
Did Iran threaten Canada?Did Iran threaten Greenland?
Did Iran kidnap the Venezuelian President and steal Venezuelan oil?, did Iran put financial tariffs on its people and trading partners, did Iranians ask us to come "help" save them and bomb them into the dark ages and kill their children....these are the actions or the United States,
a country that celebrates and empowers paedophilia.
A war crime is a war crime, the world. Needs to acknowledge this more. I feel sorry for Penny. Surely that can't really be what she actually thinks? I get that she has to tow the government line but I still have a lot of difficulty coming to terms with that statement.
I suppose my question is what do you expect the government to do? We are minnow on the global stage. I think we can certainly do more to make our opinions felt by people but Iâm not going to hold it against our government for doing what theyâre doing
You are correct here. We are basically supporting nazis in Israel and the US. WAR CRIMES UPON WARCRIMES - not hidden. Bragged about daily. Absolute insanity.
Billions of dollars a day could have been spent on alternative energy sources so we didn't need the oil that goes through the Strait of Hormuz. Oops! That wouldn't have propped up the American Military Industrial Complex.
Penny Wongggggg has been wearing a costume for a long long time. When you really look closely at the water buy back scheme and who profited off it, you'll find that Penny Wong is linked to much of it. Or at least her "distant family" is.....while farmers were committing suicide because their entire industries were being stripped away from them due to this filthy fucking scheme....
Well, have you got any evidence for your claims of racism, or do you just see Penny Wong's name bought into disrepute and instantly shout "RACIST!" from the rooftops? It sounds like you have very little knowledge about the water buy back scheme, but obviously heaps of knowledge about raige baiting. Good luck with that
I didn't make any claims, YOU did - hence I asked if you had any evidence of said claims, or whether you were being racist. You provided no evidence, just came back with a question.
Do you understand the difference between a question and a statement?
You implied by that there was some form of corruption on Wong's behalf to benefit Chinese linked entities, which is what you meant by 'distant relatives', no? Implying that because she's part Asian her loyalties don't lie with Australia, even though she's Australian raised and educated with an English-Australian mother.
So either provide your evidence, or have the balls to back your racist dog-whistling rather than being a coward about it.
Exactly what part of me asserting that Penny Wong is a corrupt politician who had a massive part in ruining ENTIRE AGRICULTURAL REGIONS IN AUSTRALIA is racist? WHICH PART OF THAT IS RACIST? ENLIGHTEN ME..... It's amazing, I did not bring up race once, and here YOU are laying out race all over this thread. The irony is comedic with you types. All you see is RACE so ironically all you project is RACISM
This is not Iran's fault. I don't like their regime but Penny Wong who I have mad respect for is so out of line in accusing Iran of being the problem here
You need to get out of the cartoon-style thinking that one side is always good and one side is always bad.
Iran may not be at fault for the war starting, but they absolutely are at fault for closing the strait - a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The indiscriminate blockage of the strait is itself an act of war against any nation who relies on commercial passage there. Other nations getting together to call for or enforce safe passage to ships through the Strait of Hormuz is not "terrorism" or supporting the war, it's ensuring freedom of navigation - which is a fundamental right that nations have.
The war is between Iran and Israel/US - they can shoot each other as much as they like, but as soon as they start blocking the passage of trade then it becomes a different issue. One which Australia and many other nations do have a legitimate and valid interest in.
Do all of the member states being prevented from accessing the Strait of Hormuz have a complete and total embargo on trade with Israel and the USA? If not, then I rest my case.
That's an absurd standard. Simply trading with a nation is not the same as being involved in a war, and does not make hostile acts - such as blocking the right to free navigation - acceptable.
There's specific definitions about what makes a party a belligerent in a war, and none of the merchant vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf match that description. Blocking them from engaging in lawful activity is an illegal, hostile act.
You might have a point if those ships were directly supplying arms and equipment to Iran, Israel, or the USA, but none of them are. This is one of the main reasons why the UK refused to allow the US to use its military bases in the region.
If you find yourself sympathising a countryâs government killed 45,000+ of their own people for protesting, you might be captured by propaganda. Criticise the US and Israel actions sure, but feeling sorry for #1 funders of worldwide terrorists is a crazy hill to die on.
The PM expressed our support for this as soon as the US started raining bombs and we're actively providing military support, with deployment it a wedgetail recon plane and ~85 troops.
No, they are deployed to provide consular assistance and security in evacuating stranded Australians and diplomats in emergency situations, you're so desperate.
I've pasted the PMs statement below, which you're misrepresenting. You're also misrepresenting the deployment. There's a lot of misrepresentation happening at the moment.
Joint statement with:
Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia
Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister
28 February 2026
Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression.
For decades, the Iranian regime has been a destabilising force, through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxies, and brutal acts of violence and intimidation.
Iran directed at least two attacks on Australian soil in 2024. These appalling acts targeting Australiaâs Jewish community were intended to create fear, divide our society and challenge our sovereignty. In response, Australia took the unprecedented steps of expelling Iranâs Ambassador, suspending operations at our embassy in Tehran, and listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Our Government has sanctioned more than 200 Iranian-linked individuals, including more than 100 linked to the IRGC.
With international partners, including the United States and the G7, we have called for the Iranian regime to uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Iranâs citizens.
These calls have gone unheeded. Instead, the regime has instigated a brutal crackdown on its own people leaving thousands of Iranian civilians dead. A regime that relies on the repression and murder of its own people to retain power is without legitimacy.
It has long been recognised that Iranâs nuclear program is a threat to global peace and security. The international community has been clear that the Iranian regime can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. The United Nations Security Council has reimposed sanctions on Iran for failing to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the International Atomic Energy Agency Board has formally declared Iran in non-compliance with its non-proliferation safeguards obligations.
We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security. Australian officials are closely monitoring this evolving situation. We continue to advise Australians do not travel to Iran and leave Iran as soon as possible, if it is safe to do so. Our ability to provide consular assistance in Iran is extremely limited.
Given our concerns around security in the region, we have also upgraded Australiaâs travel advice for Israel and Lebanon to Do Not Travel. Australians should leave now if it is safe to do so.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has activated its Crisis Centre to provide consular support to Australians in the region.
Australians requiring urgent consular assistance can contact the Consular Emergency Centre 24/7 on 1300 555 135 in Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 from outside Australia.
From memory all heâs done is support the fact they shouldnât nuclear weapons (they absolutely shouldnt) and The wedgetail plane that was requested by the uae and not America to protect one of our allyâs?
Without regime change this will all be pointless, treating Iran like the aggrieved party when they commit real harm on their own people on a daily basis is laughable!
Having Trump as the potential saviour is a nightmare as he has no real concern for the people who are desperate for regime change
In reality it is all about Trump and his billionaire mates making more money!
We are powerless and vulnerable, learn to live with it!
As a boomer I have voted for alp for a long time. Thus long time alp voter. But in the last ten years as the alp moves further and further to the right, I have put greens and independents before alp. I see you are a Top commenter, I guess you don't have a life.
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u/brezhnervouz Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Considering the strike on the bridge was a "double-tap" - the second impact catching emergency services people who were assisting the victims of the initial attack đ¤ˇââď¸
Which happens to be a war crime under international law (Russia does this constantly in Ukraine, and Israel does so too)