Australians have begun returning home from the Middle East as the federal government works to organise further flights from the United Arab Emirates while fighting in the region continues to spread, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast from Parliament House, Wong said the arrival of the first group of Australians overnight had been an emotional moment as authorities monitor security conditions for additional departures.
“I think we all are, and the scenes of people arriving home were really moving,” Wong said. “I certainly was on the edge of my seat yesterday morning. We knew that the flight was due to take off but obviously could only do so if it was safe.”
She said officials had been closely watching whether the flight would depart amid continuing hostilities.
“And we were all waiting to see whether it departed, was able to depart and so I was really glad that it was,” she said. “I was very moved, I’m sure as all Australians, to see people being able to get home now. Hopefully we see more Australians coming home soon.”
The government is now preparing additional flights from the United Arab Emirates, though Wong said the situation could change quickly if security deteriorates.
“So, there are three flights and I want to make sure I’m very careful about this because this could move very quickly if there is further military activity that makes it unsafe for people to fly, obviously these flights will not proceed,” she said.
“But there are currently three flights due to depart this morning from the UAE and obviously that would be a great relief to see more Australians being able to come home.”
Wong warned that operations were taking place in an unstable environment as fighting spreads across parts of the region.
“This is a conflict zone and we’re operating in an environment which is highly unpredictable,” she said. “I think you reported before in your package that Iran has now struck, sought to strike Türkiye. So, this is now 11 countries that Iran is seeking to strike, that gives you some sense of how the conflict, unfortunately, is spreading.”
Authorities are also dealing with large numbers of Australians currently in the region. Wong said the government’s consular response is complicated by the scale of Australians present in the United Arab Emirates.
“Obviously, as I’ve been saying, the best way to get the numbers of Australians that we have in the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, home quickly is for there to be commercial flights resuming,” she said.
“We have some 24,000 Australians in the UAE. That’s why this consular crisis, this crisis is larger numbers than anything we’ve dealt with.”
To support evacuation efforts, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has deployed additional crisis response teams to the region.
“This is us putting people into the region to help with the consular work,” Wong said.
“So, to help Australians on site, anybody who has challenges, people who have challenges, who are finding it tough and also need help to get onto the flights.”
The teams will also assist with the logistical demands of coordinating flights and assisting Australians trying to leave the region.
“And obviously there’s a very big logistics task which is part of their job,” she said. “Because we are deploying into a war zone. I’m not going to give you details of precisely where, but I can say we have six teams which are deploying into the region.”
Wong said additional personnel were needed to reinforce existing diplomatic staff already working in the region.
“There’s obviously a great need,” she said. “We have good people already in the region at the embassies, at the posts, but we need to put additional people on the ground and I’m very grateful to these staff for going.”
Australians seeking assistance are being encouraged to register through the government’s Smartraveller portal. Wong said this system will help authorities understand demand for evacuation flights and identify passengers who may require priority assistance.
“The primary way in which we’ll seek to do that is obviously through registration,” she said.
“We have open registration on the Smartraveller portal to people in the UAE as well as in Israel and Iran. We are working through that registration at the moment.”
Airlines are currently managing passenger lists for flights leaving the region, though the government is working with carriers to identify travellers who may require urgent assistance.
“The airlines are primarily operating who is getting on the flights, but we are engaging with them but obviously where we want to get to is trying to prioritise what we describe as vulnerable passengers,” Wong said.
Officials are still assessing how many Australians have formally registered for help.
“Thousands have registered, but we have to work through who is eligible,” Wong said. “So, I’m not in a position to give you the number who are formally now registered as eligible.”
The crisis comes as global concern grows over the expansion of the conflict across the Middle East.
Wong said Australia and other countries are closely watching the situation and working with partners to address the wider security risks.
“We are very concerned, as Canada is, about this conflict continuing to spread, about the impact on the region, the risk to countries in the region, many, many countries who have not been participants in the conflict,” she said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is visiting Australia during the escalating crisis. Wong said discussions between the two countries would focus on coordination between governments that are not directly involved in the conflict.
“Mark Carney, Prime Minister Carney has spoken, as the Prime Minister has and as I have, about the importance of middle powers stepping up,” she said.
“We have to work together and you have seen Australia and Canada as well as the United Kingdom doing that in relation to matters in the Middle East and more broadly.”
Wong said further coordination between countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom could increase as the situation develops.
“I think you will see more coordination between middle powers as we go forward,” she said.
Australia is also maintaining contact with the United States and governments across the region as tensions continue.
“We are communicating through official channels,” Wong said. “Obviously, the US and Israel are the countries engaged in these strikes.”
She said many countries that were not part of the conflict are now facing security risks.
“I have been in contact with many countries in the region,” she said. “There are, as I said, many non-participant countries who have now been drawn into this because Iran has directed attacks into these countries and that is causing great concern in the region.”
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