TRANSCRIPT - ABC RADIO AM WITH SABRE LANE - WEDNESDAY 27 AUGUST 2025

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

RADIO INTERVIEW – ABC AM WITH SABRA LANE

WEDNESDAY, 27 AUGUST 2025

 SUBJECTS:  ASIO ASSESSMENTS, IRAN AMBASSADOR EXPELLED, IRAN’S INVOLVEMENT IN AUSTRALIAN ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS

SABRA LANE: The Federal Home Affairs Minister joined me earlier. Tony Burke, thanks for joining AM.

TONY BURKE: Good morning.

LANE: Iran's rejected Australia's accusations and accused the Federal government of appeasing Israel and it's vowed retaliatory action. What do you fear it's going to do?

 BURKE: Well, if I start first of all with their rejection. Any ASIO assessment, and I know as their Minister, there's a huge amount of work and analytical rigour that goes into these ASIO assessments. They're not made lightly, and they're not made public unless they are very, very confident of the facts that we're providing to the public. So people should have a very high level of assurance as to what we stood up and informed people of yesterday in terms of Iran's involvement.

The reality in terms of what they might do, it stands up against what they've already done. Iran have been responsible for attacks which are not simply, you know, we don't put them to one side and say, "Oh, that was just an attack on one part of Australia". You attack a community in Australia, you attack Australia, and you attack Australians. And that means we had to respond with very strong action, which is exactly what we did yesterday.

LANE: And that claim that it's appeasement, they're saying you've done this to appease Israel.

BURKE: We've taken this action because Iran has attacked Australians. No other country is involved in terms of that conclusion. That's something that Iran has done. That's something that Australia needed to respond to, and we responded in the strongest way.

LANE: Israel's also claiming some credit today, saying that Benjamin Netanyahu's frank assessment of Mr Albanese last week as weak has led to this.

BURKE: Complete nonsense and, you know, whatever is said by anyone else doesn't change the obligation of Anthony Albanese as Australian Prime Minister to defend and protect Australians.

 There was not a minute between us receiving this assessment and us starting to work through what we do as a response. And as I say, in terms of the response, this is the first time post‑war that ‑ in the post‑war era that we've expelled an Ambassador. You don't do it lightly. It's not something without cost to Australia as well. You try to keep embassies open as long as you can.

 But the reality, the reality is we as a government had to draw a line when Australians have been attacked in this way.

LANE: Australia has updated its travel advice to Australians and dual citizens now in Iran saying that they are at high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest. Is that what the government fears now, that they will pay for this decision?

BURKE: We've always been concerned about Australians in Iran, which is why we've had a do not travel instruction there for a very long time. Our advice to any Australian in Iran is that they should leave if it is safe to do so.

LANE: And the threat now that possibly Australians living there may be arrested as a response?

BURKE: Well, we've never believed it was safe which is why we've had the travel advisory that we've had.

LANE: The ASIO Chief did say yesterday that some of the people involved in these antisemitic attacks were paid. He said some, and by inference some weren't. Have some people been radicalised?

BURKE: The information that was given yesterday, we have to be very careful in terms of anything that can be seen as providing too many specifics of people who are currently being charged, and this is why we were quite clear about the involvement from overseas. But we are conscious that we do not want to do anything that in any way jeopardises trials that are in place, and so I won't be adding anything to the level of detail that was provided yesterday.

LANE: All right. Are you able to quantify how many other antisemitic attacks have been directed from Iran?

BURKE: We have announced the two but we suspect many more, but not all of the attacks which have happened in Australia have been directed from Iran, which is why nobody should look at this and think this means that we don't also have to confront antisemitism in Australia. It's real, it's debilitating, and we do.

LANE: Alex Ryvchin from the Council of Australian Jewry says that the owners of the cafe in Sydney who were the subject of one of these attacks are actually very anxious to learn that they were targeted by a foreign regime and has given them no comfort, saying that they don't know how many other people are possibly out there. Can you understand why they're still very fearful and the broader community is very fearful?

BURKE: Absolutely. Well I made the call to tell them. So the advice to that family came personally from me. That business has had challenges since that time as well, and I'll tell you anything that the community can do to support that business we should. They are good people who are just running a business who should have been able to live safely in Australia without any of this.

LANE: The Senate Committee recommended nearly two years ago that the government designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation. The Opposition says Australians should be "outraged" and deserve answers as to why it didn't happen then.

BURKE: As I say, this is the first time that an Ambassador has been expelled in the post‑war era.

LANE: Sure, but they're saying ‑‑

BURKE: This is not a decision ‑‑ LANE: ‑‑ why didn't this action happen two years ago. That's what they're saying. Why wasn't the government trying to push a bill through Parliament then to designate the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation?

BURKE: The thing that I think the Opposition are missing in this is what we have as of yesterday is something fundamentally different to what we had when a Senate report came down. And that is as of yesterday, we have a foreign government engaging in an attack on our soil. That is of a completely different order to anything that was in front of us two years ago.

 There are significant advantages in dialogue. Governments don't shut down dialogue with other countries, even when they disagree with them. And as I say, since ‑ in the post‑war era we haven't previously done it.

 But all of that changes and a line is completely, completely crossed when you deal with attacks on our soil.

LANE: Two quick points. When will these laws pass Parliament, and practically, proscribing this organisation a terrorist organisation, what difference does that make?

BURKE: The process for the drafting of the legislation has started. So, it can't be done under the current legislation, but the process that we go through for the drafting of legislation has commenced. And I want to make sure that we get complete precision and we get that drafting right. So, I'm not going to, you know, it's being done as fast as it can, but I want to make sure that we get that drafting right.

 In terms of the impact when a listing occurs, it means things like membership funding, providing resources, they're all criminal offences. But it also has a symbolic value, and we need after what's been revealed yesterday to send the clearest of public messages that the Australian government doesn't condone the actions of groups that engage in this sort of behaviour.

LANE: Tony Burke, thanks for your time this morning.

TONY BURKE: Great to talk to you, Sabra, thank you.

 ENDS