Doorstop - Parliament House, Canberra

JOURNALIST:    What was your reaction when you woke up this morning and saw President Trump’s tweet and the threat?

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:    Well look, of course a lot of Australians would be concerned by seeing comments about targeting civilians. It is essential that civilians and infrastructure are protected, and we would urge all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law.

JOURNALIST:    The deadline President Trump outlined is just hours away now. Is the Australian Government applying any pressure on the US to not take the drastic measures President Trump has mentioned?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, I’d say a couple of things. We of course urge all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. That is critical. We have also consistently as a government called for a de-escalation of this war and a resolution now.

JOURNALIST:    Pakistan is reportedly pushing for a two-week extension to Iran’s deadline. Are you aware of that? Would you support President Trump taking that two-week deadline extension?

AMANDA RISHWORTH:    Well, look, what I would say is that we want to see a de-escalation and a resolution of this conflict. The aim originally stated was to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. It’s pretty clear from a wide variety of reports that the military has been degraded, so we would urge very much for a resolution of this conflict and de-escalation.

JOURNALIST:    Thanks Minister.

[ENDS]