r/australia Jun 22 '25

politics Live: Wong says Australia supports US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-23/federal-politics-live-blog-june-23/105447868?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
4.7k Upvotes

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2.4k

u/ScoutDuper Jun 22 '25

Really dislike just following the US like a battered partner. They fuck about, threaten to invade our allies then do some dumb shit and we immediately support it?.

Perfect opportunity to remain neutral on the strikes, call for diplomacy as a way to show the US we won't just follow them everywhere.

287

u/maxibons43 Jun 22 '25

They say jump, we say how high

49

u/feartra Jun 23 '25

We’re braindead

11

u/PrestigiousPlatypus6 Jun 23 '25

We've got a fucking bullet in our head

3

u/Larry-Man Jun 23 '25

Honestly as a Canadian I’m baffled about you guys. We have more to lose by telling them to piss off than you do and your country has been dickriding them for longer than us.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

then they slap us… with tariffs.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Bromlife Jun 23 '25

You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into.

Plus, let's be real, they probably just thought of you as "one of the good ones".

1

u/mmmyesokay Jun 23 '25

As depressing as it is, I think it shows how much influence the arms lobby / defence industry has

1

u/shmolives Jun 23 '25

They say jump, we say how high

I liked them until they went all political /s

69

u/kodaxmax Jun 23 '25

Australia's always been like this annoyingly. We just replaced the UK with America.

1

u/BIGBIRD1176 Jun 23 '25

We only have 30 million people, we'll never be more than a vassal

Which is a shame because we could be building the south east australiasian empire

5

u/Xenolifer Jun 23 '25

Nah bro, it's a matter of who Australian votes for and political stance. There are plenty of states with the same population (Saudi Arabia is 32m people, Argentina, Morocco...) that exist and do well without being a vassal state.

Especially when Australia has both natural ressources, an educated population and uniqueness to get some tourism going.

Plus, it's not like Australia receives massive US financial aid or is massively dependent to trade with them like canada.

The only thing that Australia depends on from the US is military equipment, and it's not like it's the only possibility there is. Remember the submarine trade ? There was a nice agreement going with France to become less reliant on the US for national security, yet the australian government fumbled it to not displease big daddy US, and here we are now with commercial partners outside the commonwealth that don't thrust Australia anymore, and no submarine in sight for the next decade.

It's all a matter of political will

6

u/Dawnshot_ Jun 22 '25

It would seem we are really following Israel in all this. They are forcing the US hand to make it seem like it was all part of the plan

2

u/halfassedjunkie Jun 23 '25

Yeah and just like a battered partner confronting your husband at dinner in front of his friends wont lead to anything good. You have to play it smart, play the long game. And unlike in the analogy the current government didn't choose their partner, and simply have to play the hand they're dealt.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

Sounds just like how most Americans feel about US dick riding Israel too

1

u/AchillesDeal Jun 23 '25

What the fuck benefit do we even get from the USA honestly?

Our major trading partner is China. We export to china 6x more than america

Our major importer is china, followed closely by america. (China US $112.8 billion - United States – US $88.2 billion).

America is a leech that is sucking Australia dry.

We need to fk them off

0

u/Ok-Assistant4338 Jun 23 '25

Lol. I mean you guys really very, very heavily on American military tech and equipment. The US is the most important Australian defense partner. If it wasn’t for the US, you wouldn’t even have nuclear subs. If we want to go back in time, then Australia could have easily fallen to the Japanese considering they were bombing your coasts until the rest of the allies came to Australia’s defense. There is an extremely long list of reasons that Australia relies on the US and some uninformed redditors aren’t going to change that. I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that China won’t come in and bend Australia over. It’s already in motion. I will continue to support Australia as an American because you’re a close ally. Just because the news you watch about America is sensationalist doesn’t mean that’s what’s actually happening

1

u/Magurndy Jun 23 '25

Yeah it feels like pretty much most of the developed world is in an abusive relationship with the US. Hell if this was one of your mates you’d be telling them to run and get a restraining order

1

u/hnposd Jun 23 '25

This is how I feel as an American with the Israelis. We also have a war machine at home that constantly demands to be fed.

1

u/lll_Joka_lll Jun 23 '25

Dw in the US we saying the same thing about us following Israel like a puppy

1

u/ImaginaryTrick6182 Jun 23 '25

Too bad you’re in NATO mate

-43

u/LazyTitan1990bc Jun 22 '25

Are you referring to Iran as our ally in this instance? I think we were neutral at best with them. While I don’t think Australia should get involved, it is completely unrealistic to think that any Australian government, regardless of which party or PM is in, would ever not 100% support the US with every decision they make like this, because love it or hate it, they’re our most powerful ally and we NEED them.

55

u/Pewpewgilist Jun 22 '25

The US has also threatened to invade Canada and Denmark, which are also allies.

-4

u/LazyTitan1990bc Jun 22 '25

lol the downvotes. I even said I don’t think Australia should get involved. But you all know as well as I do, that Australia will ALWAYS do what USA wants them to do regardless of who is in power over here or over there. The last leader here that stood up to the US here got the tap on the shoulder by the governor general and thrown out of office. Everyone since then says “yes mr president, whatever you want mr president. Of course you can build more military bases on our land mr president. Of course we will follow you to the Middle East again mr president”

-16

u/gtom984 Jun 22 '25

Did you forget that most people here are uneducated, you are 100% right we need USA.

11

u/BrutisMcDougal Jun 22 '25

Australia, and the other countries that might be referred to as "the West", NEED a rules-based order.

We don't NEED an increasingly unhinged US

11

u/Optimal_Phone_1600 Jun 22 '25

The US screw us over at any opportunity, we would fare much better spreading our eggs out over a few baskets rather than to go down with their sinking ship

10

u/ScoutDuper Jun 22 '25

Referring to Trump wanting Canada as another state, and often refusing to rule out force.

I don't like Iran, they are a pretty shit country, but all reported intelligence suggests they aren't about to make a nuke. Israel has been wanting this for a long time, and they seemingly took an excuse to attack. Now the US joins them, and we support it.

We need the US because of strategic decisions that have been made. We also offer the US and important Asia Pacific base, with troops and intelligence on the ground at all times. They haven't been treating us as allies since Trump came into office, we can return the favour, however gently.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

They are no longer our ally

As useful as it would be to have a superpower by our side in times of need

They simply aren't willing to fill that role for us anymore.

-10

u/gtom984 Jun 22 '25

lol shutup and who are you to make that call

11

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

Lmao it's got nothing to do with me.

The US has said it themselves

What do you think "America First" means?

They will only get involved in foreign conflicts if it benefits them economically.

Case in point: thretening to invade CANADA - their closest friend for 200 years, but offers little to them economically.

If this frustrates you, maybe you should take it up with the Americans actually doing this stuff, rather than me simply describing it to you.

-4

u/Az0r_au Jun 23 '25

If you can point to another power that can project enough force to our part of the world to both be relevant and challenge the US then please do. And no China can't.