This week in Australian foreign affairs: The Minister for Foreign Affairs issues a joint statement with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on Iran, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Australia, The Australian Government announces a new parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence, and more.
On February 28, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, published a statement on Iran that proclaimed: “Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression”. In the statement, the three condemned Iranian attacks on Australia in 2024, government violence against Iranian protestors and Iran’s nuclear program. The statement went on to state: “We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security. Australian officials are closely monitoring this evolving situation. We continue to advise Australians do not travel to Iran and leave Iran as soon as possible, if it is safe to do so.”
On March 4, the Australian Government announced that Parliament had passed legislation to establish the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence (PJCD). This is the first time an Australian government has taken up a statutory committee dedicated to Defence. The PJCD will allow Parliament to be briefed on matters relating to the Australian Defence Force, Department of Defence, Australian Submarine Agency, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and other Defence portfolio agencies. The PJCD will also be able to receive and consider classified information related to defence and will be responsible for monitoring and reviewing the Government’s response to the findings of any Royal Commission inquiries relating to Defence. In a media release, Defence Ministers announced “The legislation passed today establishes appropriate safeguards that enhance Parliamentary accountability and transparency while ensuring sensitive information about Australia’s national security, and that of our international partners, is protected.”
On March 5, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Madame Fox-Carney to the Australian Parliament. This was Carney’s first official visit to Australiaas Prime Minister. During his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Albanese lauded the close relationship between Australia and Canada, saying “our countries have always recognised something of ourselves in each other.”
Albanese’s speech echoed the sentiment of Carney’s now-famous Davos speech in its mourning of the collapse of the old world order and the need for middle-powers to stand together. Albanese quoted John Curtin in his warning to smaller nations “Curtin said this: ‘In a world where none of us is strong enough to stand alone, we shall discover how – and by what means – we can best stand with and for each other.’ More than eight decades on – even in a new world order – that old test endures. Technology is changing the nature of conflict and heightening the risk – and cost – of escalation. And if ever nations such as ours had the luxury of imagining that distance alone kept us safe, those days are certainly gone.
Albanese went on to say, “Prime Minister, Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back. But we can back ourselves, back our citizens – and back each other.”
On March 5, Australia and Canada issued a joint statement which reaffirmed Australia’s and Canada’s close strategic alignment as well as their commitment to a rules-based order. A long list of items was covered, including trade and economic relations, intertest in critical minerals, deepening defence and security cooperation, and strengthening institutions. The statement read in part: “Leaders acknowledged the challenges facing Australia and Canada in a deteriorating geostrategic environment. They noted increasing risks for regional and global stability, as well as national economic resilience and security, posed by sharpening strategic competition. Leaders acknowledged that the close and longstanding friendship between Australia and Canada is a solid foundation for enhanced strategic collaboration as we seek to promote and protect our national interests in a complex global environment.”
The statement outlined many steps by which Australian and Canada are seeking to strengthen ties, including agreements that Australian and Canadian Ministers are to meet regularly to discuss matters such as finances, investment and defence, among other topics.
On March 5, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Trade announced that it will meet African diplomatic representatives. Through its Trade Subcommittee, the Joint Standing Committee will hear Heads of Mission on Friday, 6 March 2026 in roundtable discussions as part of its inquiry into strengthening Australia’s trade and investment relations with Africa. Chair of the Trade Subcommittee, Mrs Fiona Phillips MP, is quoted as saying “These roundtable sessions will examine how we can make the most of the opportunity to strengthen trade and investment relations between Australia and African Nations. The Trade Subcommittee is grateful to the Heads of Mission and other representatives who have agreed to participate in the Subcommittee’s inquiry.”
Alexandra Desailly is an Australian Outlook Intern at the Australian Institute of International Affairs National Office. She is one of thirty selected for the Young Australians in International Affairs (YAIA) Emerging Leaders Dialogues and the winner of the YAIA Policy Pitch Competition. She holds a Bachelor of International Studies with Distinction from UNSW; her work focuses on European current affairs, national security, and diplomacy.
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