Hastie calls Albanese’s response to US strikes on Iran ‘too slow and too passive’
Andrew Hastie says the people of Australia deserved a more prompt statement from Anthony Albanese regarding the US attack on Iran on Sunday.
The shadow foreign minister told Afternoon Briefing on Monday that he thought the prime minister “has been too slow and too silent and too passive”.
Speaking with the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas, he said:
Yesterday we only heard from a spokesperson from the government, which was a very ambiguous statement, and only heard from the prime minister today. He called NSC [national security committee] this morning, not yesterday, and we saw his press conference with Penny Wong a little earlier.
The question I have is: is this a question of confidence or competence on his part?
Key events
Labor says what’s important now is ‘where we go from here’
Matt Thistlethwaite says the US attack on Iran, which the Australian government supports, was “very targeted and tight”.
Responding to Hastie’s accusation that Anthony Albanese acted too slowly when addressing reporters today rather than yesterday, the assistant minister for foreign affairs told Patricia Karvelas:
We are a government that takes serious issues such as this and relies on important information from our intelligence and defence agencies and we make proper decisions. That is the responsible thing to do. Nonetheless, we issued a statement yesterday, the foreign minister did a dozen interviews this morning and the prime minister held a press conference to make clear Australia’s position.
But what is now important, Patricia, is where we go from here and what we believe is important is that the parties now negotiate. We want to see a peaceful resolution that ensures that Iran abides by its obligations and is something that is negotiated rather than through conflict.
Hastie urges higher spending on defence
Andrew Hastie says that he believes Australia should increase its defence expenditure “so we are in the best possible position to secure our own interest and have as much agency as possible”.
Speaking with the ABC, the shadow foreign minister said:
We have seen in the last five to 10 years countries like Russia and Iran and China in our own region challenge the US rules-based global order. Those countries are revisionist – they want to revise the rules and bend them through their own rules – and expansionist as well, as we have seen with Russia and Ukraine. This is just the world as it is not as we wish it to be and we have to respond.
He also said the opposition was “Australia first” and that Anthony Albanese should attend the Nato summit and seek a meeting with Donald Trump:
The US is our closest security partner, that is why we are troubled Anthony Albanese has not been able to establish a personal relationship with President Trump.
I think that is a problem – President Trump has been elected for more than several months now and that is why I would encourage the prime minister to go to Nato: not send the deputy prime minister but go himself and seek a meeting with Donald Trump and build a deeper relationship with our allies.
Hastie calls Albanese’s response to US strikes on Iran ‘too slow and too passive’
Andrew Hastie says the people of Australia deserved a more prompt statement from Anthony Albanese regarding the US attack on Iran on Sunday.
The shadow foreign minister told Afternoon Briefing on Monday that he thought the prime minister “has been too slow and too silent and too passive”.
Speaking with the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas, he said:
Yesterday we only heard from a spokesperson from the government, which was a very ambiguous statement, and only heard from the prime minister today. He called NSC [national security committee] this morning, not yesterday, and we saw his press conference with Penny Wong a little earlier.
The question I have is: is this a question of confidence or competence on his part?
Whale untangled off Sydney beach and moving ‘much more freely’
In a piece of good news, we have just heard the humpback whale off Palm Beach has been disentangled.
“It’s a really successful end of the day considering we’re about to lose light,” an Orcca spokesperson said.
The whale is moving “much more freely”, with Orcca members staying close to it to assess its health.
Whale entangled in rope off Sydney beach
A whale has become entangled off Sydney’s northern beaches.
In a Facebook post, Orrca marine rescue group said the sub-adult humpback whale off Palm Beach was 10 to 11 metres in length and was trailing about 150m of rope.
The line goes through the whale’s mouth, partially wrapping its body and potentially also its left pectoral fin, according to Orcca. The trailing end of the line is marked by four white buoys equally spaced along the last 10 metres.
NSW National Parks is leading a disentanglement attempt, an Orcca spokesperson confirmed on Monday afternoon.
“It seems to be tired, but that’s to be expected from an entangled whale that is carrying something like a buoy that is slowing it down,” the spokesperson said.
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Weather warnings issued for SA and Tasmania
A quick look at a couple of weather alerts issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Parts of South Australia will be hit by abnormally high tides on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the bureau.
In a post on X, it said tides above normal high tide marks were likely, which may lead to seawater flooding of low-lying coastal areas.
Damaging winds were forecast for northern Tasmania on Tuesday.
Australia needs new regulations to protect people from tech giants, ACCC finds
Australia needs new laws and regulations to prevent significant harm to consumers and businesses from the exploitative practices of US tech giants, AAP reports.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued the warning in its final digital platform services report on Monday after five years of monitoring social networks, online marketplaces, app stores and search engines.
The report issued six recommendations but also raised future areas of concern including a lack of competition in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) services, and risky behaviour involving online video games.
Gina Cass-Gottlieb, chair of the ACCC, said existing laws were not equipped to protect Australians:
While these services have brought many benefits, they have also created harms that our current competition and consumer laws cannot adequately address.
This is why we continue to recommend that targeted regulation of digital platform services is needed to increase competition and innovation and protect consumers in digital markets.
Thank you, as ever, Nick Visser. Let’s get straight on with the remainder of the day’s news.
Nick Visser
That’s all for me today after a busy morning of news to start the week. Daisy Dumas will guide you through the rest of the day. Take care.
Australia Post says letter volumes have fallen to 1950s levels
As reported earlier, the consumer watchdog has given the OK to a price bump on the cost of sending a letter in Australia. If finalised, the new stamp fees would kick in on 17 July and see stamps for an ordinary small letter increase from $1.50 to $1.70.
Australia Post says letter volumes have declined to levels not seen since the 1950s. A spokesperson said on Monday:
The average household purchases five to six full-rate stamps each year and the proposed increase would cost them about $1.20 extra per year.
Even with the price increase, Australians will still be paying less than the current median price of $1.93 for a small letter across OECD postal service operators. The self-funded government enterprise may be losing money delivering letters, but has benefited from growing appetites for online shopping and parcel delivery.
Jack Snape
How Minjee Lee rose to the top in a golden era of women’s golf
The finest triumph for Australia’s highest-paid sportswoman was accompanied by something unusual. For the usually private, impassive Minjee Lee – after winning her third major at the Women’s PGA Championship near her second home in Dallas, Texas – tears were a glimpse into her recent pain.
A 19-month winless run. A collapse at last year’s US Open. An adoption of the broomstick putter, a very public symbol that everything was not right. But those experiences were consigned to the past after sinking a par putt on 18 in Frisco. “It’s very different, because I feel like I had a lot of doubt the past few years,” Lee said. “I think this one just means a little bit more to me.”
The Western Australian won by three strokes to earn $2.8m and become only the third Australian golfer to claim three different major championships, after Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson. Even Greg Norman only found major success at a single tournament, the Open Championship, in his two victories.
Read more about the great of Australian sport here:
Covid deaths in aged care jump as infections spread
Thirty-four residents of aged care homes died from Covid-19 over the week to 19 June, a sharp jump from the previous week.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing releases weekly figures for Covid cases and fatalities in aged care homes across the country.
In the week ending 12 June, there were 16 deaths, meaning figures more than doubled for the following reporting period.
Figures also show a steady increase in total Covid cases – for the week ending 29 May, there were 967 reported infections. For the week ending 19 June, there were 1,414.
NSW Health issued warnings earlier this month that Covid cases were rising across the state, with large increases among people aged 90 and over. At the time Dr Jeremy McAnulty said:
While most people have already received their primary course of Covid vaccinations, we’re urging people, especially those aged 65 and over, to get a booster to protect themselves.
Anti-nuclear group says Australian support for Iran strikes sends ‘dangerous message’
The Australian branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) said today the Albanese government’s support for the US strikes on Iran was “deeply unhelpful” in achieving peace in the region.
Ican said the prime minister’s backing sent a “dangerous message to the international community that Australia backs military aggression over dialogue”.
The anti-nuclear group said in a statement:
Instead of aligning with nuclear-armed states acting outside the law, Australia should act independently to uphold international law and negotiated outcomes…
Before her deeply disappointing support for the American attacks, foreign minister Penny Wong has more helpfully called for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. Ican Australia supports this approach and urges the government to adopt one further D – disarmament.
You can read more about Ican’s calls here:
Anthony Albanese quizzed on intelligence that led to support for action against Iran – video
Do you have any questions about politics this week?
Back to Back Barries is Guardian Australia’s political analysis podcast. This week, veteran political journalist George Megalogenis is filling in for co-host Barrie Cassidy. He joins former Liberal adviser and pollster Tony Barry to pull apart the spin behind the strategies.
And they want to hear from you! Send your politics questions to backtobackbarries@theguardian.com and they’ll pick some to answer on this week’s episode, out on Saturday.
Luca Ittimani
Tobacco sales fell a fifth in 2024-25: IGA owner
Tobacco revenue fell by a fifth in the year to April at IGA’s parent company, Metcash, with the slump in legal tobacco sales accelerating as the illicit cigarette trade takes over the market.
Tobacco was still a major pillar of grocery store sales, Metcash’s financial report revealed, accounting for $1.8bn of the companies’ $10.6bn in food segment revenue in the 12 months to April. But sales fell $450m annually, after making Metcash nearly $2.3bn the previous year and $3bn back in 2021.
The company said the decline was due to a continued sharp rise in illicit tobacco sales and a “largely ineffective” police response, in a presentation to investors on Monday. Changing government regulations had seen tobacco sales fall a further 30% in May and June 2025 compared with the same period the previous year, it said.
As the legal market for tobacco shrinks, Metcash said its control has increased, now accounting for about fifth of legal sales and third of grocery store tobacco sales – an outsized share of the market given its IGA and other supermarkets represent less than a tenth of general grocery sales.
Experts have warned Australia’s “de facto war on nicotine” has fired up the illicit tobacco trade. You can read more from our economics editor, Patrick Commins, here:
Growing supermarket sales offset the decline in cigarette sales for Metcash, which saw its market capitalisation rise $100m on Monday after releasing the year’s financial results. The company also owns wholesale distributors and other independent store networks including Cellarbrations and Mitre 10.
Anthony Albanese responds to Iran crisis: ‘We don’t want escalation and a full-scale war’ – video
