{"id":38081,"date":"2026-03-06T09:41:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internationalaffairs.org.au\/?post_type=australianoutlook&p=38081"},"modified":"2026-03-06T09:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:43:24","slug":"6-march-2026-the-week-in-australian-foreign-affairs","status":"publish","type":"australianoutlook","link":"https:\/\/www.internationalaffairs.org.au\/australianoutlook\/6-march-2026-the-week-in-australian-foreign-affairs\/","title":{"rendered":"6 March 2026: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 28,\u00a0Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, published a statement on Iran <\/strong>that proclaimed: \u201cAustralia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0In the\u00a0statement<\/a>, the three condemned Iranian attacks\u00a0on\u00a0Australia in 2024, government violence against Iranian protestors and Iran\u2019s nuclear program.\u00a0The statement went on to\u00a0state:\u00a0\u201cWe 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\u00a0monitoring\u00a0this evolving situation. We continue to\u00a0advise\u00a0Australians do not travel to Iran and leave Iran as soon as possible, if it is safe to do so.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 4,\u00a0the\u00a0Australian Government announced that Parliament had passed legislation to\u00a0establish\u00a0the Parliamentary Joint Committee on\u00a0Defence\u00a0<\/strong>(PJCD). This is the first time an Australian government has taken up a statutory committee dedicated to\u00a0Defence. The PJCD will allow Parliament to be briefed on matters relating to the Australian\u00a0Defence\u00a0Force, Department of\u00a0Defence, Australian Submarine Agency, Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs and other\u00a0Defence\u00a0portfolio agencies.\u00a0The PJCD will also be able to\u00a0receive and consider classified information related to\u00a0defence\u00a0and will\u00a0be responsible\u00a0for\u00a0monitoring and reviewing the\u00a0Government’s\u00a0response to the findings of any Royal Commission inquiries relating to\u00a0Defence. In a\u00a0media release<\/a>,\u00a0Defence\u00a0Ministers\u00a0announced\u00a0\u201cThe legislation passed today establishes appropriate safeguards that enhance Parliamentary accountability and transparency while ensuring sensitive information about Australia\u2019s national security, and that of our international partners, is protected.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 5<\/strong>, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Canadian Prime Minister\u00a0Mark\u00a0Carney\u00a0and his wife\u00a0<\/strong>Madame Fox-Carney\u00a0to the Australian Parliament.\u00a0This was Carney\u2019s first official visit to\u00a0Australiaas Prime Minister.\u00a0During his welcoming\u00a0speech<\/a>, Prime Minister Albanese\u00a0lauded the close relationship between Australia and Canada, saying \u201cour countries have always\u00a0recognised\u00a0something of ourselves in each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albanese’s speech echoed the sentiment of Carney\u2019s 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 \u201cCurtin said this: \u2018In a world where none of us is strong enough to stand alone, we shall discover how \u2013 and by what means \u2013 we can best stand with and for each other.\u2019 <\/em>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albanese went on to say, \u201cPrime 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 5,\u00a0Australia and Canada\u00a0issued\u00a0a\u00a0joint statement\u00a0which\u00a0reaffirmed Australia\u2019s and Canada\u2019s close strategic alignment as well as their commitment to a rules-based order.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0A\u00a0long\u00a0list\u00a0of items<\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0covered,\u00a0including\u00a0trade and economic relations, intertest in critical minerals,\u00a0deepening\u00a0defence\u00a0and\u00a0security\u00a0cooperation,\u00a0and strengthening institutions.\u00a0The statement read in part:\u00a0\u201cLeaders 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\u00a0longstanding friendship between Australia and Canada is a solid foundation for enhanced strategic collaboration as we\u00a0seek\u00a0to promote and protect our national interests in a complex global environment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 5,\u00a0the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Trade announced that it will\u00a0meet African diplomatic representatives<\/strong>. Through its Trade Subcommittee, the Joint Standing Committee will\u00a0hear Heads of Mission on Friday, 6 March 2026 in roundtable\u00a0discussions<\/a>\u00a0as part of its inquiry into strengthening Australia\u2019s trade and investment relations with Africa.\u00a0Chair of the Trade Subcommittee,\u00a0Mrs\u00a0Fiona Phillips MP, is quoted as saying \u201cThese 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\u00a0participate\u00a0in the Subcommittee\u2019s inquiry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Alexandra Desailly<\/a> 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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":38022,"template":"","categories":[8277],"tags":[4461,8629,4387,4809,8632,4749,8630,5211,4588,8631,8592],"blog-post-type":[282],"region":[8474],"class_list":["post-38081","australianoutlook","type-australianoutlook","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","tag-africa","tag-anthony-albanese","tag-australia","tag-canada","tag-canadian-prime-minister","tag-defence","tag-deputy-prime-minister-richard-marles","tag-mark-carney","tag-penny-wong","tag-pjcd","tag-this-week-in-australian-foreign-affairs","blog-post-type-the-week-in-australian-foreign-affairs","region-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 March 2026: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs - Australian Institute of International Affairs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalaffairs.org.au\/australianoutlook\/6-march-2026-the-week-in-australian-foreign-affairs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 March 2026: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs - 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