Aussies Return Home, Greens Debate Military Deployment

0:00It's March 30th. From your city to your ears, this is Sydney News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. More than 10,000 Australians have made it back home from the Middle East since the Iran conflict kicked off. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says over 103 direct commercial flights have landed since March 4th, bringing close to 10,000 for 100 people. A few more are doing today. Officials are pushing hard for any Aussies still there to hop on commercial flights and get out fast. The region's still super volatile, even with talks of ending the war, and things could go south quick. They're also wanting folks to steer clear of transiting through spots like Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, or the UAE. Meanwhile, the Greens are fired up, demanding parliament debate the government's call to send ADF personnel and a wedged-tail surveillance plane to the Persian Gulf area in the UAE. They claim it hits the marks in the government's own late 2024 memo, which calls for updates

1:00and debate within 30 days set to wrap. April 9th. But the Fed shot that down, saying it's no major military operation. Just support for regional self-defense to protect civilians, including Aussies. No offensive moves against Iran, or boots on the ground there. They point to past wedged-tail runs over Poland, helping Ukraine as proof those memo rules don't apply. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is weighing in too, telling the U.S. they've hit their goals like stopping Iran's nuclear push, and now it's time for President Trump to map an endgame. With so many safely home and deployments in play, Australia is threading a careful line in this mess.