Australian news and politics live: Navy Chief warns bases, ports under threat unless drone fleet a focus

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has appealed to her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar for de-escalation and restraint as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues to escalate.

Senator Wong urged Mr Sa’ar to return to dialogue and diplomacy in a telephone call on Sunday evening, echoing similar messages from Australian allies, including the US, UK, Germany and Canada.

Speaking on ABC Insiders on Sunday morning, the Foreign Minister warned of a “perilous” situation in the Middle East, revealing that she had also urged the Iranian foreign minister to exercise restraint.

But Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, issued a statement cautioning that the world could not ignore regimes that “preach hatred, promise annihilation, and are left to build the means to carry it out.”

He added: “Some still urge diplomacy, as if words can stop warheads.”

Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, has revealed what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump will speak about when they meet face-to-face.

“I know the Prime Minister’s looking forward to the first face-to-face meeting with the President since the election,” Ms Plibersek told Sunrise.

“They’ve had three successful phone calls, of course, a face-to-face meeting is something to look forward to. Of course, they will be discussing defence, including AUKUS and tariffs as well.

“We’re already increasing our defence spending. We’re increasing our defence spending by $10.6 billion over the next four years alone and around $60 billion over the next decade.

“But the way we decide what we spend on defence is to work out what we need to defend our country, and then spend that much money. We don’t pick a number out of the air and then work out what we can buy with it.”