Open letter to our Government - What are our values?
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To: Andrew Leigh MP (Member for Fenner) – Open Letter to the Australian Government
Subject: An urgent question of Australian values
Dr Leigh,
I write to you as my local member, but this is an open letter to the entire Australian government. We have a serious problem. Australia is in the grip of an identity crisis, and no one in parliament seems willing to answer the most basic question:
What are our values?
Iran recently accused Penny Wong of siding with Nazis. The language is extreme, but the charge of hypocrisy is valid. Our actions on the world stage are not merely contradictory; they are indefensible.
When the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran on 28 February 2026, Australia was among the first to respond \[3\]. Anthony Albanese said: "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" \[1\]. He hoped for regime change \[2\]. Opposition leader Angus Taylor went further, celebrating the death of Iran's supreme leader and calling on democracies to "rally together and act together to support a new Iranian government" \[2\].
But what exactly are we supporting? Let's examine:
**Is it about preventing a nuclear weapon?**
The IAEA confirmed that Iran has enriched uranium to 60 percent – close to but not at weapons-grade level \[4\]. More importantly, the IAEA found no evidence that Iran is running a coordinated program to build a nuclear weapon \[5\]\[6\]. Yet Israel, our ally in this war, has an estimated 80–200 undeclared nuclear warheads \[7\]\[8\] and refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty \[9\]. So that's not it.
**Is it about ending a regime?**
That is an illegal regime change, not self-defence. The objective was to trigger a swift collapse of the Iranian government. It failed. Instead, it consolidated the regime and unleashed economic chaos.
**Is it about oil and the Strait of Hormuz?**
Australia is now one of 35 countries discussing how to secure the strait \[19\]. The conflict has pushed Brent crude past $110 a barrel, with spot prices briefly hitting $141 – the highest since 2008 \[15\]\[16\]. Are we really going to shed Australian blood so a certain type of oil passes through a certain stretch of water? Is that what our values have become? \[17\]\[18\]
But the contradiction that cuts deepest is on Palestine and Israel.
In September 2025, Albanese announced Australia will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. "Until Israeli and Palestinian statehood is permanent, peace can only be temporary," he said \[12\].
Yet at the same time, declassified documents show Australia shipped 68 consignments of F-35 components to Israel between October 2023 and September 2025, with 51 addressed to Nevatim airbase – home of Israel's F-35 squadrons \[14\]. Amnesty International says Australia "plays a substantial role in the global supply chain of F-35 fighter jet components, aircraft that have been used by Israeli forces in airstrikes on designated safe zones in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians" \[13\].
We recognise Palestine while arming its destruction. Does that not sound psychotic?
So who do our leaders serve? The Australian people? Or American dollars and American interests? \[10\]\[11\]
We are a country with no values, only contradictions. Hypocritical. No vision. No moral compass.
I plead with you, Dr Leigh – tell Australians what our values are.
Yours sincerely,
Australia
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References
"Mr Albanese was clear in responding to the new war: the American actions were welcome. '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,' he said."
"In a written statement, he dwelled on the need for regime change in Iran and hinted at the possibility it might happen." / "Opposition leader Angus Taylor went further... 'This is a critical moment for democracies ... to rally together and act together to support a new Iranian government.'"
"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes."
"Chief among them, he said, is Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent. That level is close to weapons-grade."
"The IAEA found no evidence that Iran is running a coordinated programme to build a nuclear weapon."
"Rafael Grossi ... said inspectors have not uncovered any evidence of 'a systematic and structured program to manufacture nuclear weapons' in Iran."
"Israel has the 'nuclear material for up to 200' weapons."
"Most strategic studies estimate that Israel possesses between eighty and two hundred nuclear warheads."
"Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and its nuclear facilities are not subject to the same inspection regimes that govern most other states."
"Australia already has military assets in the region, with an E-7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and 85 crew deployed to the United Arab Emirates."
"Defence Minister Richard Marles said: 'I'd emphasise that we have an E‑7 Wedgetail in the region right now, helping in supporting the defence of the countries of the Gulf, and particularly the United Arab Emirates.'"
"Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday. 'Until Israeli and Palestinian statehood is permanent, peace can only be temporary,' he told reporters."
"Australia plays a substantial role in the global supply chain of F-35 fighter jet components, aircraft that have been used by Israeli forces in airstrikes on designated safe zones in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians."
"Declassified Australia documented 68 shipments of Australian-made F-35 components, sent to Israel between October 2023 and September 2025, with 51 addressed to Nevatim airbase, home of Israel's F-35 squadrons."
"Brent crude futures for May were up $5.31, or 4.71%, at $118 per barrel."
"An earlier CNBC report showed that spot Brent crude oil even surged to $141.36 per barrel. This is the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis."
"Analysts have sharply raised 2026 price forecasts, with Brent crude now projected to average $82.85 per barrel, a nearly 30% increase from February."
"Oil prices surged as investors worried that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East would continue to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks."
"Australia will join a virtual meeting of 35 countries to discuss plans to reopen and secure the Strait of Hormuz and ease an oil shock rocking global markets."
