‘Authoritarian streak': Obama calls for government regulation of ‘facts'
Sky News host James Morrow discusses the 'authoritarian streak' creeping into American politics – not from the right, but from the left.
Former president Barack Obama, during a speech, called for more government regulation of media platforms and the way facts are presented to the public.
'The left loves the idea of facts being settled, and not contested, so long as they come from the government as the single source of truth,' Mr Morrow said.
'It's all ironic because once upon a time, the left used claims on free speech as a way to undermine the establishment, but now that they are the establishment, all bets are off.'
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Staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs have evacuated the Tehran embassy and are helping Australians leave through the border in Azerbaijan. Some Australians have already left through land crossings but the government is also poised to help citizens leave once the airspace over both nations re-opens. Australia has called for a de-escalation as the situation in the Middle East continues to devolve following Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran. The US military struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday morning AEST in a move the American president declared a "spectacular military success". But the conflict could continue to worsen as Mr Trump warned "there will be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days". The Australian government has consistently pushed for dialogue and diplomacy since Israel first launched strikes on Iran in mid June, and has continued to do so in the aftermath of Mr Trump's announcement. "We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace," a government spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. "The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. "We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security." Questions have been raised over whether Australia - as a US ally - should bolster American efforts in the Middle East. The federal government has insisted Australia is not a central player in the conflict, and only deployed defence assets to the region to assist in evacuation efforts, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong repeatedly emphasising they are not there to engage in combat. Meanwhile, the opposition has supported America's actions in Iran, noting they were taken to prevent the nation from acquiring nuclear weapons. "The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to," Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and acting opposition spokesman for foreign affairs Andrew Hastie wrote in a joint statement. "While Australians will never seek conflict in the world, we can never forget that the Iranian regime is a militantly theocratic autocracy. "It is the Iranian people who are the victims of this brutal regime and we stand in solidarity with them." At least 430 people have been killed and another 3500 injured in Iran according to Iranian media outlet Nour News, while local Israeli authorities have reported 24 civilian deaths and almost 1300 injuries. The casualty toll from US strikes is yet unclear but Greens leader Larissa Waters called the event a "terrifying and catastrophic escalation". "You cannot bomb your way to peace," she said in a statement. "Australia must always work for peace and de-escalation. Australia is not powerless, and we cannot be involved in another brutal war in the Middle East." About 2600 Australians in Iran are seeking assisted departures from the region, alongside about 1200 in Israel as the government urges travellers not to venture to either nation. Staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs have evacuated the Tehran embassy and are helping Australians leave through the border in Azerbaijan. Some Australians have already left through land crossings but the government is also poised to help citizens leave once the airspace over both nations re-opens. Australia has called for a de-escalation as the situation in the Middle East continues to devolve following Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran. The US military struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday morning AEST in a move the American president declared a "spectacular military success". But the conflict could continue to worsen as Mr Trump warned "there will be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days". The Australian government has consistently pushed for dialogue and diplomacy since Israel first launched strikes on Iran in mid June, and has continued to do so in the aftermath of Mr Trump's announcement. "We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace," a government spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. "The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. "We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security." Questions have been raised over whether Australia - as a US ally - should bolster American efforts in the Middle East. The federal government has insisted Australia is not a central player in the conflict, and only deployed defence assets to the region to assist in evacuation efforts, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong repeatedly emphasising they are not there to engage in combat. Meanwhile, the opposition has supported America's actions in Iran, noting they were taken to prevent the nation from acquiring nuclear weapons. "The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to," Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and acting opposition spokesman for foreign affairs Andrew Hastie wrote in a joint statement. "While Australians will never seek conflict in the world, we can never forget that the Iranian regime is a militantly theocratic autocracy. "It is the Iranian people who are the victims of this brutal regime and we stand in solidarity with them." At least 430 people have been killed and another 3500 injured in Iran according to Iranian media outlet Nour News, while local Israeli authorities have reported 24 civilian deaths and almost 1300 injuries. The casualty toll from US strikes is yet unclear but Greens leader Larissa Waters called the event a "terrifying and catastrophic escalation". "You cannot bomb your way to peace," she said in a statement. "Australia must always work for peace and de-escalation. Australia is not powerless, and we cannot be involved in another brutal war in the Middle East." About 2600 Australians in Iran are seeking assisted departures from the region, alongside about 1200 in Israel as the government urges travellers not to venture to either nation. Staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs have evacuated the Tehran embassy and are helping Australians leave through the border in Azerbaijan. Some Australians have already left through land crossings but the government is also poised to help citizens leave once the airspace over both nations re-opens. Australia has called for a de-escalation as the situation in the Middle East continues to devolve following Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran. The US military struck three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday morning AEST in a move the American president declared a "spectacular military success". But the conflict could continue to worsen as Mr Trump warned "there will be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days". The Australian government has consistently pushed for dialogue and diplomacy since Israel first launched strikes on Iran in mid June, and has continued to do so in the aftermath of Mr Trump's announcement. "We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace," a government spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday. "The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. "We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security." Questions have been raised over whether Australia - as a US ally - should bolster American efforts in the Middle East. The federal government has insisted Australia is not a central player in the conflict, and only deployed defence assets to the region to assist in evacuation efforts, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong repeatedly emphasising they are not there to engage in combat. Meanwhile, the opposition has supported America's actions in Iran, noting they were taken to prevent the nation from acquiring nuclear weapons. "The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to," Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and acting opposition spokesman for foreign affairs Andrew Hastie wrote in a joint statement. "While Australians will never seek conflict in the world, we can never forget that the Iranian regime is a militantly theocratic autocracy. "It is the Iranian people who are the victims of this brutal regime and we stand in solidarity with them." At least 430 people have been killed and another 3500 injured in Iran according to Iranian media outlet Nour News, while local Israeli authorities have reported 24 civilian deaths and almost 1300 injuries. The casualty toll from US strikes is yet unclear but Greens leader Larissa Waters called the event a "terrifying and catastrophic escalation". "You cannot bomb your way to peace," she said in a statement. "Australia must always work for peace and de-escalation. Australia is not powerless, and we cannot be involved in another brutal war in the Middle East." About 2600 Australians in Iran are seeking assisted departures from the region, alongside about 1200 in Israel as the government urges travellers not to venture to either nation. Staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs have evacuated the Tehran embassy and are helping Australians leave through the border in Azerbaijan. Some Australians have already left through land crossings but the government is also poised to help citizens leave once the airspace over both nations re-opens.
