Kieran Gilbert, Host: Joining me live in the studio is the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Matt Thistlethwaite. Thanks for your time. I just wanted to get an update from you, if you can, what's the latest in terms of how many Australians are stranded right now in the Middle East with the airspace closed?
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: We anticipate that there's about 115,000 Australians who are still within the region and we're asking them to monitor the situation with Smartraveller. If you're in Israel, Iran, UAE or Qatar, register with Smartraveller and you'll get the regular updates via email and text message to alert you to what's going on. Importantly, a flight left Dubai this morning, an Emirates flight --
Gilbert: That's the first one?
Assistant Minister: Since the conflict started, that's the first one, and the airspace was closed. That will get into Sydney at 10:30 tonight. It's going to be ad-hoc, this is a very fast-moving situation, Kieran --
Gilbert: If a plane can get out --
Assistant Minister: If a plane can get out, they'll try and get out. And obviously our officials on the ground there will attempt to maximise the number of Australians on those commercial flights.
Gilbert: Across the region, is it over 100,000 stranded or 100,000 there?
Assistant Minister: We know of about 115,000 Australians that are living and working in the Middle East region. Now, that's the broader region. So, that includes Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, places such as that.
Gilbert: And that doesn't include those in transit?
Assistant Minister: It would include some that are in transit --
Gilbert: But not all the tourists that are stranded there?
Assistant Minister: Well, it would include tourists, yes, so it's around 115,000 Australians that we know of within that region.
Gilbert: Okay, now in terms of the conflict itself, the government's been supportive. What do you make of some of the descriptions, like from Macron, who says it was outside of international law? When we look at it, do we need to consider, though, the four decades of grey zone terrorism, proxies and so on, that that regime, that tyrannical regime perpetrated on the world, does that have to be balanced up?
Assistant Minister: We certainly do. And I think from an Australian context, we need to be conscious of the fact that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard intervened in Australia and sought to undertake terrorist activities by targeting a synagogue and other activities. So, that's why our government acted very quickly to expel the Iranian ambassador and to list the IRGC. Now, I think taken in that context, that's why Australia has offered a statement of support. We're not involved in this conflict, it's not our region. But we've offered a statement of support for the United States actions to stop Iran developing the potential for nuclear capacity that would be disastrous for the region.
Gilbert: Were you shocked that some mosques and community groups, not, not, not many, I mean, but there were, there were a number in Sydney, in Melbourne, where they mourned the loss of that, the death of that tyrant?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, I was shocked and I think that it's inappropriate given how tyrannical that regime was. Only recently, Kieran, you had members of the Iranian public that were protesting for better civil rights, for democracy --
Gilbert: They shot them on sight.
Assistant Minister: 30,000 of them were massacred. That's the sort of person that we're talking about. So, any celebrations or commemorations for that sort of individual I think is inappropriate.
Gilbert: Yeah, indeed. And so government funding for those groups, will that be pulled, will that be scrapped or, because I know that at least one group was getting up to $670,000 was the commitment pre-election in Melbourne?
Assistant Minister: Well, we obviously continually monitor, through the security agencies, through the police, any intelligence that we get. And that would also all be taken into consideration. You wouldn't want to see organisations that are involved in supporting the activities of the Iranian regime receiving government funding.
Gilbert: Well, and you look at the expats dancing in the streets, they're happy that this guy, this tyrant, is dead and hopeful that that regime can be toppled. The expats, you know, the Iranian expats that have been here, unable to go home and see relatives, long lost relatives, because of that tyrannical regime. And imagine how they're feeling when they see others, you know, commemorating that.
Assistant Minister: I think you're exactly, I think you're exactly right. And I've sat with members of the Iranian diaspora that now live in Australia to see how grateful they are that they've been given, they've been given protection here in Australia. They can live a normal life. They work, they contribute to Australian society. They're so grateful to be part of our democracy and to have the freedoms that we love and enjoy, and that's why they've been dancing in the streets.
Gilbert: We appreciate you bringing us up to speed on the latest for the Aussies over there. Thanks, appreciate it.
Assistant Minister: Thanks, Kieran.