In this wide-ranging episode, we explore the United States’ surprise bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, the ceasefire that followed, and the way Australia’s 24-hour silence morphed into a reflex endorsement of Washington’s strike. Our analysis looks at how Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong framed the raid under the tired mantra of “alliance obligations”, even as experts warned the gamble could ignite a region-wide war which has been designed to prop up Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump and the military-industrial complex. We track the media narrative that magnifies “Iranian aggression”, while treating Israel’s right to self-defence as gospel, highlighting the ABC’s decision to give Scott Morrison – now on the board of a major arms contractor – and disgraced bureaucrat Mike Pezzullo prime airtime without disclosing their conflicts of interest.
We test Australia’s claim to a “rules-based international order”, which essentially is rubber-stamp diplomacy that refuses even to name breaches by the United States or Israel’s genocide in Gaza. We ask whether Penny Wong has abandoned the national interest, comparing her record to past foreign-policy low-lights by Alexander Downer and Gareth Evans, and explore Ed Husic’s call for genuine balance as a rare sign of Labor spine. The Coalition’s Andrew Hastie demands transparency on Pine Gap and AUKUS – even though his own party stitched up the $380 billion submarine deal in total secrecy –revealing the bipartisan habit of saying one thing in opposition and another in power.
Will complacency threaten Labor’s huge post-2025 majority now that the “we don’t comment on national security matters” has returned as part of the political lexicon? And will failing to manage foreign-policy crises risk the same slow credibility bleed that started with the Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023. It didn’t cost Labor at the last election, but could it have an effect at the next one? Finally, we also look the Federal Court win for journalist Antoinette Lattouf – sacked by the ABC after reposting a Human Rights Watch report on Israel’s starvation tactics – showing how the Israel lobby still warps Australia’s public broadcasters.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh.
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