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| Tony Abbott to decide on joining fight against Islamic State after US talks | Tony Abbott to decide on joining fight against Islamic State after US talks |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A final decision on Australia joining the fight against Islamic State in Syria may not be made until late September, after the prime minister, Tony Abbott, meets with US president Barack Obama. | A final decision on Australia joining the fight against Islamic State in Syria may not be made until late September, after the prime minister, Tony Abbott, meets with US president Barack Obama. |
| The US has asked Australia to expand its operations in the Middle East to include air strikes on Syria but the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has told ABC TV the government wants to be sure it has a credible legal basis for taking part. | The US has asked Australia to expand its operations in the Middle East to include air strikes on Syria but the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has told ABC TV the government wants to be sure it has a credible legal basis for taking part. |
| She says it is complicated but the US believes that because Syria’s border region is effectively “ungoverned space” it has the legal authority necessary to bomb Islamic State extremists there. | She says it is complicated but the US believes that because Syria’s border region is effectively “ungoverned space” it has the legal authority necessary to bomb Islamic State extremists there. |
| Related: Labor cautious over Australia joining air operation against Isis in Syria | Related: Labor cautious over Australia joining air operation against Isis in Syria |
| Abbott will go to the US after the September 19 byelection in the West Australian seat of Canning, although Bishop says he may discuss Syria with Obama before his trip. | |
| She confirmed the US had asked Australia to support air strikes as well as carry out intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance and air refuelling in Syria’s border areas. | She confirmed the US had asked Australia to support air strikes as well as carry out intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance and air refuelling in Syria’s border areas. |
| The foreign minister took aim at Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek on the issue, saying while the government had the full support of opposition leader Bill Shorten, his deputy always seemed to take another stance. | The foreign minister took aim at Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek on the issue, saying while the government had the full support of opposition leader Bill Shorten, his deputy always seemed to take another stance. |
| “What Tanya Plibersek does is she says that she supports the Labor position, the coalition position, but then she always moves a little bit to the left and has a slap at Bill Shorten on the way through,” Bishop said. | “What Tanya Plibersek does is she says that she supports the Labor position, the coalition position, but then she always moves a little bit to the left and has a slap at Bill Shorten on the way through,” Bishop said. |
| Labor frontbencher Ed Husic voiced concerns about the government effectively workshopping a potential escalation of air combat operations into Syria before receiving the US request. | Labor frontbencher Ed Husic voiced concerns about the government effectively workshopping a potential escalation of air combat operations into Syria before receiving the US request. |
| Related: Islamic State destroys fifth-century monastery in central Syria | Related: Islamic State destroys fifth-century monastery in central Syria |
| The head of the joint intelligence parliamentary committee and Liberal MP Dan Tehan had called for an expansion of operations a week earlier. | The head of the joint intelligence parliamentary committee and Liberal MP Dan Tehan had called for an expansion of operations a week earlier. |
| “I don’t think that’s the right way to go,” Husic told ABC TV. | “I don’t think that’s the right way to go,” Husic told ABC TV. |
| “It should happen through formal processes and I think that the Abbott government does need to take a hard look at the way these things get discussed in the public space.” | “It should happen through formal processes and I think that the Abbott government does need to take a hard look at the way these things get discussed in the public space.” |
| Fellow opposition frontbencher Brendan O’Connor said Labor had sought to work with the government on national security at all times. | Fellow opposition frontbencher Brendan O’Connor said Labor had sought to work with the government on national security at all times. |
| “We would like to get a full briefing before making our decision [on Syria],” he told Sky News. | “We would like to get a full briefing before making our decision [on Syria],” he told Sky News. |