Live: Coalition welcomes humanitarian visas for Iranian football players asylum

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed Australia has offered humanitarian visas to five Iranian soccer players.

There were concerns for their safety if they returned home after they were labelled traitors on Iranian state TV for not singing their country’s national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast.

Nos Hosseini is the Secretary of the Iranian Women’s Association, based in Melbourne.

She said the team has been accompanied by government minders who restrict communication between the women and the public, and monitor their behaviour including demonstrating loyalty to the regime.

She said the women have shown bravery in seeking asylum.

“It’s wonderful news that the minister has taken these threats and this situation so seriously,” Ms Hosseini said.

“It sends a strong signal.”

“The other players are undoubtedly facing a really difficult decision making process given they need to consider their safety but also their families’ safety.”

By air, land or sea, when illicit drugs, weapons, undeclared cash or even endangered animals are smuggled into Australia, they’re targeted by the Australian Border Force.

But there’s a new unlikely focus at the border — imported, unregulated bottles of a hormone called melatonin.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has been warning patients to stop using unregistered imported melatonin products, after testing showed large inconsistencies in how much melatonin is actually in each bottle.

Figures exclusively obtained by the ABC reveal that 150,000 units — or individual tablets or gummies — of melatonin were intercepted by ABF officials between September and December last year.

Once it receives a referral from border force, the TGA assesses the product to determine whether it has been lawfully imported before notifying the ABF to either seize or release the goods.

The TGA’s vowing it will continue to monitor what it describes as harmful unregistered products and will notify the ABF to seize and destroy any counterfeit melatonin products picked up at the border.

Greens senator David Shoebridge has accused the Albanese government of bowing to pressure from the United States, as it committed a Wedgetail aircraft and missiles to the UAE as part of the ongoing conflict.

“This is Australia now actively involved in Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal war. We don’t have an alliance with the UAE,” he said.

“We know what this is for, this is to free up US military assets for their attack on Iran.”

Shoebridge also raised concerns that the deployment of 85 personnel to the region would be the tip of the iceberg.

“Look at the mixed messages coming out of Washington. Look at the response from Iran. This is not a ‘boys home by Christmas’ proposition, this is a lengthy deployment, and this is likely just the start of it,” he said.

Unlike other Liberals, frontbencher Andrew Hastie, who is an Afghanistan war veteran, has been reluctant to offer support for the government’s announcement that Australia will join the war effort in the Middle East.

“I’d like a briefing on what’s going on,” he said.

“I am really worried about the long-term impact [of this war] on our region, particularly given we import so much of our fuel.

“I’m worried about farmers, I’m worried about truckies, I’m worried about small businesses that rely on cheap access to fuel.”

Circling back to Anthony Albanese’s press conference earlier for a moment.

The prime minister said Australia was not considering providing security for oil tankers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict.

France has deployed warships to the region, through which about 25 per cent of the world’s oil travels, to escort ships and has suggested further international efforts would be required.

But Albanese said he was focused on the assistance provided to the Gulf states.

You can read more in our report by Holly Tregenza, Stephen Dziedzic and Clare Armstrong. 

Four flights from Dubai bound for Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are scheduled for today if the airspace remains open.

The first fight to Sydney is due to take off in a few minutes.

More than 2,600 Australians have arrived back in Australians on 18 direct flights from the UAE and Qatar.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonathon Duniam has welcomed the news that five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have been granted humanitarian visas.

“It’s a good outcome for five individuals and hopefully more decide to take the same path as the five women who’ve sought asylum here in Australia,” he told Sky News earlier.

Duniam said he spoke to his counterpart, Tony Burke, a couple of times over the weekend and downplayed the role Donald Trump’s phone call this morning had.

“I do know that the government were actively working on this for a number of days in relation to the pressures that these women were probably facing and what we as a country would think is right,” he says.

“So I don’t think [Trump’s] driven it. I think that despite the radio silence … the minister outlined why there wasn’t a running commentary on this, and I think it is reasonable.”

Former Socceroos captain and refugee advocate Craig Foster says the Iranian soccer players’ situation has been mishandled by the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA organisers.

Foster told ABC Radio Adelaide that the organisations should now use what leverage they have to make sure any members who return to the Islamic Republic are safe.

“Under the FIFA statutes, players are entitled to protection — that includes from their own member federation — and their own member federation has to assure their protection,” Foster said.

“So they could easily communicate to the Iran federation that we’re watching these players, if anything occurs because of the environment that you have placed them in in this tournament, then that will be considered extremely gravely by FIFA.

“In fact, there’s a whole range of options such as suspension that would be at their disposal.”

He said FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation also needed to make sure those players still in the camp environment were not forcibly removed from Australia until they understood the rights they had.

“The Australian government and Australian Federal Police rightly have concerns that might happen, which means an intervention is certainly justified,” Foster said.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has shared pictures of his meeting with five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team over night.

Burke granted the women humanitarian visas late last night.

• Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to the Gulf after a request from the United Arab Emirates. 
• The plane provides long-range reconnaissance activity and was also deployed to assist Ukraine in a similar role. 
• It will be deployed, alongside 85 personnel, for an initial period of four weeks to provide defence to the Gulf nations. 
• The government will also provide the UAE with medium-range air-to-air missiles. 
• Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that more than 2,600 Australians have now returned from the Middle East via commercial flights. 
• The airlines have also confirmed that most Australians who were stuck in the region in transit have made it home. 
• Energy Minister Chris Bowen sought to downplay concerns about Australia’s fuel supplies, insisting a shortage of supply was due to panic buying. 
• Anthony Albanese confirmed he spoke with Donald Trump just before 2am Australian time. He said the pair spoke about the Iranian women’s soccer team. 

Before he wrapped up, Anthony Albanese confirmed the government’s superannuation reforms will pass this week.

Under the changes, the concessional tax rate on earnings for balances between $3m and $10m will double to 30 per cent.

Balances above $10m will be taxed at new, higher 40 per cent rate.

The Greens confirmed it would wave the laws through the Senate.

Albanese says that is a “good thing” and will make the superannuation system “more progressive”.

“I thank a majority of the Senate for agreeing to what is a very sensible reform.”

Australia’s involvement in the Middle East conflict is “purely defensive,” Anthony Albanese says.

“It’s in defence of Australians who are in the region as well as in defence of our friends in the United Arab Emirates,” the prime minister says.

“We have a free trade agreement with them and that’s opened up the markets of the Middle East.”

The prime minister has stressed that Australia is “not a protagonist” in the war.

Albanese adds he has “enormous respect” for the UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

It was a very early morning phone call between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump.

The prime minister confirmed the US president called him just before 2am.

“We had a very positive discussion. He was concerned about the Iranian women in the soccer team and their welfare and their safety if they returned home,” Albanese says.

“I was able to convey to him the action that we’d taken over the previous 48 hours and that five [members] of the team had asked for assistance and had received it and were safely located.”

Albanese says that if any of the remaining members of the team ask for assistance they’ll receive it.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen also provided a quick update on Australia’s fuel supplies, seeking to reassure it “remains at this point secure”.

“We have as much diesel in Australia today as we had before this crisis began,” he says.

“We are seeing a big increase in demand, particularly for diesel, and I understand why Australians are concerned. But my key message is that every single expected arrival of diesel supply in recent days, and expected in coming days and weeks, has arrived on schedule as expected.

“There is no need for panic buying now.”

It comes amid concerns from farmers and smaller fuel distributors about fuel supplies. 

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has also given us an update on the situation for Australians stuck in the Middle East.

• More than 2,600 Australians have now returned via commercial flights. 
• Additional flights are scheduled in the coming days. 
• The first flight from Qatar landed back in Australia yesterday and there is a hope further flights are able to return in the coming days. 
• Wong confirms she spoke with the Qatari PM last night. 
• Limited outbound commercial flights have also resumed from Tel Aviv. 
• Bus transportation has been organised to get Australians out of Kuwait, where the airport remains closed.

She says the majority of Australians who were stuck in the region in transit have now left.

“There are many more Australians still in the Middle East and we do understand these are difficult decisions for Australians and their families,” she says, adding if they want to leave they should do so while commercial flights are still avaliable.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has given us a bit more information on the deployment of E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to the Gulf.

The spy plane will be used in a similar capacity to when it was deployed to Poland to assist Ukraine.

Marles says 85 personnel, the “normal crew”, will be deployed alongside the aircraft later today.

“The expectation is that it will be in the region in the middle of the week and operational by the end of the week.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also touched on the Iranian women’s soccer team.

Five members of the team were granted humanitarian visas by the home affairs minister late last night. The offer remains open to the rest of the women.

Albanese says the government had been preparing for this “for some time”.

“They’re safe here and they should feel at home here,” the prime minister says.

“The minister for home affairs has spoken directly with the ASIO director-general about this, and we dealt with this as well through our appropriate security forums.

“We’re willing to provide assistance to other women in the team, and I think that this is a very delicate situation and it is up to them. But we say to them, if you want our help, help us here, and we will provide that.”

Anthony Albanese says his first priority is to keep Australians safe.

“There are around 115,000 Australians in the Middle East, around 24,000 in the UAE,” the prime minister says.

He says helping Australians “means also helping the UAE and other Gulf nations to defend themselves against what are unprovoked attacks”.

The prime minister says he’s clear the government will not be deploying Australian troops on the ground in Iran.

One of Australia’s most sophisticated military surveillance planes will be deployed to the Middle East after a request from the United Arab Emirates.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australia would send the E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to the Gulf to help “protect and defend Australians and other civilians”.

“The Wedgetail will provide long-range reconnaissance capability, which will help to protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf.

“The Wedgetail and supporting Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed for an initial four weeks in support of the collective self of Gulf nations.”

Australia will also provide advance and medium-range air-to-air missiles to the UAE.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just stepped up.

He’s joined by Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.