A Liberal senator and former ambassador has criticised sanctions action taken against Western Sydney University over a controversial event held on campus grounds earlier this year.
Western Sydney University was informally warned over a possible breach of Australia’s sanctions regime after Iranian state broadcaster PressTV covered an event on its campus.
PressTV has been a sanctioned entity in Australia for nearly two years, but covered the event in February aimed at “changing misconceptions” about the status of women in Iran.
The event gained significant attention for an interview given by independent senator Fatima Payman, for which she would later apologise.
Fatima Payman ultimately apologised for her comments made to PressTV.
Liberal Senator Dave Sharma said handing the university a warning over the event seemed unfair.
“Reprimanding Western Sydney University seems a little like shooting the messenger, to me,” he said.
“The university doesn’t have responsibility for enforcement of our sanctions regime, [Foreign Minister] Penny Wong’s department does, and that’s clearly what’s broken down here.”
The university has also questioned why the warning was issued, arguing it was not their event and that a third party simply hired a venue on its campus.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said it “takes sanction compliance seriously” but does not comment on specific cases.
“Corrective action” has also been taken by the Australian Sanctions Office against others associated with the event.
Questions over sanctions regime
Sanctions were placed on the Iranian state-run broadcaster in September 2023 over its broadcast of forced confessions and its role in “the oppression of people in Iran, including women and girls.
But its Australian operation was only wound up in December 2024, more than a year after the sanctions were introduced.
During that time, the broadcaster covered a number of stories from within Australia, particularly coverage of pro-Palestinian protests.
Dave Sharma said that raised questions about how sanctions were being enforced.
“The sanctions regime — if you are designated, it means your ability to handle or transfer assets of any kind is basically non-existent,” he said.
“So, how a commercial enterprise with employment arrangements and contractual arrangements could be allowed to function when it’s a sanctioned entity — it doesn’t seem plausible.”
Dave Sharma says the Foreign Affairs Department has the responsibility to enforce sanctions, not a university. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong pushed back on the criticism from Senator Sharma.
“Senator Sharma displays a profound lack of understanding of Australia’s sanctions regime,” the spokesperson said.
“Australia’s sanctions laws prohibit all Australians and Australian corporations from providing — even indirectly — assets to, or for the benefit of, a person or entity that has been designated for targeted financial sanctions.
“We have strengthened Australia’s sanctions framework to support robust administration and compliance. We are investing $26.4 million in greater monitoring and enforcement of Australia’s sanctions.”
And they argued the Albanese government had taken a tougher stance in sanctioning Iranian entities than its predecessor.
“We imposed targeted financial sanctions against Press TV on 13 September 2023 due to its role in the oppression of people in Iran, including women and girls. In nine long years of government, the Coalition did not impose one new sanction on Iran,” they said.
“It is the longstanding practice of successive Australian governments not to comment on individual sanctions compliance matters.
“As Australia’s sanctions regulator, the Australian Sanctions Office conducts robust, independent evaluations of potential non-compliance and takes appropriate corrective action where a risk of a contravention is found.”