Shadow foreign minister Andrew Hastie has declared the rules-based order dead as the crisis between the US and Iran escalates. His comments came as the Australian government faced heavy criticism for supporting US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed the attacks but said Australia was 'deeply concerned about any escalation'. The response drew sharp criticism from former Labor senator Doug Cameron and Senator Jacqui Lambie, who labelled US President Donald Trump a 'bloody sociopath'. The Greens' David Shoebridge called the strikes 'grossly unlawful'.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the US had not asked Australia to engage in the attacks, while some 3,000 Australians sought help from within Iran. Former Australian ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos said Australian combat troops were not the way forward.
On the economic front, the ASX closed lower, with more than $10bn wiped from the Australian share market on opening. Petrol prices were expected to rise at least 5c a litre. Airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia said they were monitoring airspace around the Middle East closely.
New Zealand's foreign minister said he was looking for evidence that justified the US strikes. Meanwhile, a planned meeting between Trump and leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea at the Nato summit was reported to likely not take place.
