Cash stockpiles have been dwindling at loss-making casino operator Star Entertainment Group, but the firm is making inroads on refinancing its debt in a high-wire battle to survive.

The group had $130 million in available cash as of December 31, down from $234 million six months ago, according to its interim results lodged on Friday night.

Star posted a half-year operating earnings loss of $7.6 million and suffered a statutory loss of $109.7 million, including $34 million of one-off significant items.

It suffered a $53 million net cash outflow from its operations, spent $22 million on capital expenditures and had $49 million in finance costs, among other items.

Group revenue was down 10 per cent to $584.9 million, primarily due to an 18 per cent drop in gaming revenue, which Star said reflected the continued impact of reforms regulators forced it to implement following its 2021 money-laundering scandal.

Domestic gaming revenue was down 10.6 per cent to $257 million at The Star Sydney, where it has implemented mandatory carded play and a daily cash limit of $5,000.

The softer trading conditions at Star Sydney have continued into the second half, with January revenue down six per cent from a year ago.

Group chief executive Bruce Mathieson Jr said Star was streamlining operations to strengthen its financial position, including managing essential support functions at its individual casinos in Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

“We continue to pursue appropriate cost-out initiatives and are exploring and implementing initiatives to attract customers to our properties,” Mr Mathieson said.

On Friday, Star’s senior lenders – Washington H Soul Pattinson, Macquarie, Perpetual and Deutsche Bank – agreed once again to waive financial covenants on its debt until March 31, paving the way for a potential refinancing.

Star on Thursday had tentatively agreed terms with WhiteHawk Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based credit investment manager specialising in asset-based lending to middle-market companies, for a refinancing. 

Star had $341 million in bank loans as of December 31, according to its financial statements lodged with the stock exchange.

Star also warned that there remains material uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern, with several near-term matters critical to its liquidity and financial outlook.

The biggest unknown in the short term is a looming Federal Court fine in a money-laundering case brought by Australia’s financial crime watchdog.

AUSTRAC has requested a penalty of $400 million for hosting known criminal syndicates, while Star says it can only pay around $100 million without being pushed into administration.

It’s not known when the Federal Court will rule on that matter.

Shares in Star, which declined an interview request from AAP, were flat at 12.5 cents after midday, after dipping to 12 cents in morning trade.

Oil prices surged on Monday and shares slid as military conflict in the Middle East looked set to last weeks, ‌sending investors flocking to the relative safety of the dollar, gold and bonds.

Brent jumped 7.5 per cent to $US78.34 ($A110.26) a barrel, while US crude climbed 7.3 per cent to $US71.88 ($A101.17) per barrel. Gold rose 1.5 per cent to $US5,358 ($A7,541) an ounce.

Military ‌strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran showed no sign of lessening, while the Arab nation responded with missile barrages across the region, risking dragging its neighbours into the conflict.

President Donald Trump ‌suggested to the Daily Mail the conflict could last for four more weeks, while posting that attacks would continue until US objectives were met.

All eyes were on the Strait of Hormuz where around one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil trade flows and 20 per cent of its liquefied natural gas. While the vital waterway has not yet been blocked, marine tracking sites showed tankers piling up on either side of the strait wary of attack or maybe unable to get insurance for the voyage.

“The most immediate and tangible development affecting oil markets is the effective halt of traffic through ‌the Strait of Hormuz, preventing ‌15 million barrels per ⁠day (bpd) of crude oil from reaching markets,” said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.

“Unless de-escalation signals emerge swiftly, ​we expect a significant upward repricing of oil.”

A prolonged spike in oil prices would risk reigniting inflationary pressures globally, while also acting as a tax on business and consumers that could dampen demand.

OPEC+ did agree a modest oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day for April on Sunday, but a lot of that product still has to get out of the Middle East by tanker.

“The nearest historical analogue in our view is the Middle East oil embargo of the 1970s, which increased oil prices by 300 per cent to around $US12 ($A17)/bbl in 1974,” said Alan Gelder, SVP of refining, chemicals and oil ⁠markets at Wood Mackenzie.

“That is only US$US90 ($A127)/bbl in 2026 terms. Eclipsing this in today’s market concerned about ‌significant losses of ​supply seems very achievable.”

That would be expensive for Japan, which imports all its oil, sending the Nikkei down 2.3 per cent, with airlines among the hardest hit. South Korea lost 1.0 per cent, after a meteoric rise ​so far this ‌year.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 per cent.

For Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures shed 1.9 per cent and DAX futures slid 1.8 per cent. On Wall Street, ​S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both lost 1.1 per cent.

The oil shock rippled through currency markets with the dollar a main beneficiary. The U.S. is a net energy exporter and Treasuries are still considered a liquid haven in times of stress, shoving the euro down 0.4 per cent to $US1.1768 ($A1.6563).

While the Japanese yen is often a safe harbour, the country imports all ​of ​its oil making the flows more two-way. The dollar added 0.3 per cent to 156.55 ​yen, while gaining sharply on the Australian dollar, which is often sold as a liquid proxy ‌for global risk.

In bond markets, 10-year Treasury yields fell 2 basis points to a three-month low of 3.926 per cent, having dropped under 4.0 per cent last week for the first time since late November.

Bonds had gained a bid on Friday when UK mortgage lender MFS was placed into administration following allegations of financial irregularities. Its collapse stoked wider credit fears, with well-known big banks among its lenders. MFS had borrowed 2 billion pounds ($A3.79 billion).

The news slugged banking stocks and combined with jitters over AI-related stocks to hit Wall Street more broadly.

Investors also have to weather a squall of U.S. economic data ​this week, including the ISM survey of manufacturing, retail sales and the always vital payrolls report.

Any weakness could shake confidence in the economy after a disappointing fourth quarter, but ​would also likely narrow the odds on rate cuts ⁠from the Federal Reserve.

Markets currently imply a 53 per cent chance of an easing in June and about 60 basis points of cuts ​this year. 

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle ‌in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

US-Israel strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, sowing chaos as Iran struck back at Gulf cities, airlines halted flights ‌and tankers carrying oil and other products suspended transit through the key Strait of Hormuz.

The first risk for financial markets is the uncertainty over what happens next in Iran, given the complexities of the Islamic Republic’s ruling system, the ideological ‌nature of its support base, and the power of its Revolutionary Guards.

That then complicates the outlook for oil prices, which have been rising for weeks but are now hostage to what oil-producing countries do, and how passage of tankers through the Middle East is affected.

There are big implications for inflation worldwide and even the safety of bonds, a traditional investment haven in times of stress.

“Middle East tail risks have increased,” said Rong Ren Goh, a portfolio manager in the fixed income team at Eastspring Investments in Singapore.

“Markets will reprice from geopolitical shock to regime risk shock, prolonged conflict, not just retaliation, unless Iran says it wants to negotiate.”

A bigger risk, analysts say, is complacency in ‌markets that have assumed the ‌fallout will be limited – similar to last June’s “12-Day War” in Iran or during Russia’s numerous attacks on Ukraine – and have been dismissive of any comparisons to Iran’s 1979 regime change.

Brent ​crude jumped around eight per cent on Monday for a gain of nearly 30 per cent so far this year.

Investors are purchasing US Treasuries and gold as hedges for a variety of risks, including Middle East tensions and US President Donald Trump’s erratic policies.

Gold had a record run last year and is up 24 per cent so far in 2026. In comparison, the main US stock index is up just 0.5 per cent.

“History argues strongly in favour of selling geopolitical risk premium when hostilities start,” Barclays analysts said in a client note.

“What worries us is that investors have now learned this pattern and might be underpricing a scenario where containment fails.”

William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, expects a prolonged conflict affecting supply could cause oil prices to jump to around $US100 ($A141), potentially adding 0.6-0.7 percentage points ​to ​global inflation.

Tariq Dennison, a wealth adviser at Zurich-based GFM Asset Management, said the markets had already been underestimating inflation threats.

“There will be more impact on Europe than the US, given the closer proximity ‌of Hormuz oil and gas post-Russia,” he said.

“Maybe a slight short-term uptick on gold, but gold has already priced in maximum geopolitical uncertainty.”

On the other hand, some analysts expect Iran will not be able to disrupt trade in the Gulf region and the impact on oil prices will be contained.

“We wouldn’t be surprised if any selloff in ​the (US) S&P500 on Monday morning (US time) turns into a rally, driven by expectations of lower oil prices once the latest Middle East war ends,” said Ed Yardeni, president of New York-based Yardeni Research.

The European Union’s 27 nations have called for “maximum restraint” and full respect for international law in the ‌Iran conflict.

“We call for maximum restraint, protection of civilians and full respect of international law, including the principles of the United Nations Charter, and international humanitarian law,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.

The statement came after an ‌emergency video conference ‌of EU foreign ministers ⁠on Sunday, called after the United States and Israel launched military ​strikes on Iran, and Tehran responded with strikes on Israel, US forces and Gulf countries.

“Iran’s attacks and violation of sovereignty of a number of countries in the region are inexcusable. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” the EU statement said.

Reflecting concerns about disruptions to oil ⁠deliveries and supply chains, it said the conflict “must not ‌lead ​to an escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with unpredictable consequences, also in ​the economic sphere”.

“The disruption ‌of critical waterways, like the Strait of Hormuz, must be avoided,” the statement added.

The text ​was a compromise that reflected diverse views within the EU – a bloc that represents some 450 million Europeans – on the military action launched by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime ​Minister ​Benjamin Netanyahu.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ​now was not the time to ‌lecture partners and allies.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, by contrast, “rejected” the US and Israeli action on Saturday, saying it “contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order”.

Behind the scenes, diplomats said Europe has little influence over the unfolding conflict, even though it may have a major impact on the continent.

“Not ​too many options, I am afraid. Certainly not short-term,” a Western European official said.

Europeans are “just ​bystanders, nobody has leverage ⁠with Trump”, an EU diplomat said.

Eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel will boost production of crude as US and Israeli forces launched a major attack on Iran and the country responded with retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military installations around the Gulf, disrupting oil shipments from the region.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a Sunday meeting said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting.

The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.

Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, could restrict countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world.

That would will likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day – about 20 per cent of the world’s oil – are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy.

Tankers travelling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.

Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill. Further disruptions to that shipping channel could lead to lower supply and higher prices for oil.

“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis.

“If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.

Energy experts believe oil prices could shoot higher when barrels begin trading late Sunday. Analysts at Rystad anticipate the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, could increase by $US20 ($A28) when trading opens.

A barrel of Brent crude closed at a seven-month high of $US72.87 ($A102.56) on Friday.

Australia is continuing to back the US in its war against the “abhorrent” Iranian regime, but the Albanese government has stopped short of endorsing the military action as legal.

The US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in addition to more than 40 senior leaders, as the two nations push for regime change.

Three American troops have been killed in the conflict, the Pentagon confirmed.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said US facilities in Australia were not used in the attack, describing Iran’s leadership as “abhorrent”.

“We do support the action that the United States has taken, and we very much stand with the Iranian people in this moment,” he told ABC radio on Monday.

Asked if the attacks were deemed legal under international law, Mr Marles replied: “Ultimately, the legality of these measures is a matter for both the United States and Israel to go through.”

Australia-based human rights advocate and lawyer Sara Rafiee called for continued international pressure to help dismantle the regime’s coercive practices, security infrastructure and command centres.

“Iranians are unequivocal in one thing: reform within the current system is not an option,” she said.

“After 47 years of repression, they want the regime gone in its entirety and the opportunity to determine their own future.”

Iranians in Australia took to the streets to celebrate the strikes on Tehran, marking them as the beginning of the end for the brutal regime. 

Rallies took place in Sydney, Melbourne and outside the former Iranian embassy in Canberra, where members of the community sprayed champagne, cheered and danced. 

A jubilant Nadeo Ranjear welcomed the Ayatollah’s death as “the greatest, greatest news”. 

“It is still the beginning of the end. We still haven’t got 100 per cent victory, but we are almost there,” he told AAP outside the embassy on Sunday.

“Victory is around the corner … the Iranian people will overthrow this regime.”

Some smaller, anti-war demonstrations also broke out, with groups such as the Jewish Council of Australia condemning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s endorsement of the US strikes.

Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long warned travellers transiting through the Gulf to expect delays and rerouting “for the foreseeable future”.

He warned Australians not to cancel flights, even to nations upgraded to do-not-travel warnings.

“Let the airline or tour operator make that call – if they cannot provide the service because it is unsafe, your rights are much better protected,” Mr Long said. 

It’s supposed to be the driest town in Australia, but Oodnadatta has been left a sea of buckets and tarps after being hit in an inland big wet that claimed the life of one man.

The motorbike rider went missing after trying to cross a flooded creek at Eurelia, in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges on Sunday morning.

The 47-year-old’s body was later recovered as severe weather warnings and flash flooding alerts remain in place across the region and much of Australia’s inland southeast.

The deluge exposed the lack of weather proofing at the historic Pink Roadhouse, located in SA’s arid north on the famous Oodnadatta Track.

The dirt car park out front of the Oodnadatta food stop is a muddy quagmire; the locals say it hasn’t rained this much since the 1980s. 

For Nicole Castagnaro, her shift at the roadhouse on Sunday was spent emptying the 30-plus buckets and containers dotted around the store as the rain kept falling and the roof kept leaking.

“There’s no one around at all,” she told AAP.

“The roads are closed, we’re running out of food, and if the trucks can’t get through, we’ll be stuck eating baked beans for the foreseeable future.”

Oodnadatta received nearly 18mm of rain overnight, or more than 10 per cent of its average annual rainfall of 171mm.

It’s been so long since the tracks flooded, most locals have no idea what happens next if food can’t be delivered to the tiny town and its population of 102 people.

“We can’t live on just beans, but I don’t know if the military will airlift supplies – I guess we’ll find out,” Ms Castagnaro said.

There’s no immediate end in sight to the huge storm system as it passes through central Australia, bringing widespread downfalls and flash flooding.

Millions were still bracing for deluges on Sunday night and Monday morning amid severe weather warnings for SA’s east and much of western Victoria and NSW.

The outback SA mining town of Coober Pedy also copped an unexpected drenching, receiving nearly 16mm of rainfall during the night.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Dean Narramore said heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding were expected to continue until at least Monday night.

“While for some areas, we’ve seen welcome agricultural impacts from this widespread rainfall, the additional rainfall could start causing some issues,” he said.

After receiving just 3.6mm of rain so far in 2026, Adelaide was told to expect falls of up to 50mm on Sunday, but the heavy downpours instead fell further north.

Yunta, in the outback about 300km northeast of the SA capital, received 129mm of rain, while rural centres such as Mildura in northwest Victoria were also inundated.

The downpour came as a shock to many in SA after forecasters tipped the state’s first dry summer since 2019, the eighth since records began.

Meteorologists have described the slow-moving tropical low – which sat over the Simpson Desert in the southeast Northern Territory for a week – as highly unusual.

For many farmers, some rain is welcome but forecasters warn that benefits will turn to risk as totals push beyond 50mm.

The low is expected to weaken as it moves east, although consistent falls have already prompted warnings of increased shark activity in Sydney Harbour and estuaries along the NSW coast after heavy rain.

Rich run-off can attract baitfish and, in turn, sharks, triggering attacks such as the spate in January that left one Sydney schoolboy dead.

Further key insights into the state of Australia’s economy are due to be revealed as expectations mount for a second 2026 cash rate hike.

Gross domestic product, consumption, income and productivity data will be released in the national accounts for the December quarter on Wednesday.

Australia’s central bank will hold a second meeting of its monetary policy board in mid-March, after raising the cash rate a quarter of a percentage point to 3.85 per cent in January.

It followed January’s data which showed inflation coming in hot, with the consumer price index at 3.8 per cent.

The Reserve Bank is widely tipped to raise rates again in 2026, with NAB economists forecasting the board to lift rates to 4.1 per cent in May, then keep them on hold until late 2027.

For rates to remain on hold for the rest of 2026, the bank says the data will need to change quickly with a “material downward revision to inflation forecasts”.

ANZ economists are also expecting a 0.25 percentage point rise in May.

The Reserve Bank’s target band for inflation is between two and three per cent, and relies on figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to monitor the situation.

It became the first major central bank to lift rates after previously cutting them following the inflation spike from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NAB head of Australian economics Gareth Spence said the bank was forecasting a rise in May would be the last for 2026.

“Household spending has really accelerated, disposable incomes have improved throughout last year and purchasing power picked up,” he said.

Mr Spence said while attention remained on government spending with the federal budget due to be handed down in May, all eyes should turn to the private sector.

The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1 per cent, he noted.

Mr Spence said state government infrastructure pipelines were also levelling off as more projects neared completion. 

Wall Street investors are meanwhile dealing with a handful of persistent concerns, particularly over financial and tech ‌stocks.

The major US indexes have suffered their largest monthly percentage declines in a year and all three ended decisively lower on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 521.28 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 48,977.92 while the S&P 500 lost 29.98 points, ​or 0.43 per cent, to 6,878.88.

The Nasdaq Composite leaked 210.17 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 22,668.21.

Australian share futures slipped back 20 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 13,722.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 23.3 points on Friday, up 0.25 per cent to 9,198.6, and up 3.7 per cent in February, as it notched its best close.

The broader All Ordinaries gained 26.9 points, or 0.29 per cent, to a record close of 9,435.6.

America and Israel’s attack on Iran has disrupted flights across the Middle East and beyond as countries around the region close their airspace and key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the West to Asia have been hit by strikes.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers were either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace on Saturday. 

There also was no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government there announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. 

That led to the closure of key hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, and the cancellation of more than 1800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines. 

The three major airlines that operate at those airports – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad –  typically have about 90,000 passengers per day crossing through those hubs and even more travellers headed to destinations in the Middle East, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. 

Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported incidents as the government there condemned what it called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles”.

Officials at Dubai International Airport – the largest in the United Arab Emirates and one of the busiest in the world –  said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said that one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.

Though Iran did not publicly claim responsibility, the scope of retaliatory strikes that Gulf nations attributed to Iran extended beyond the American bases that it previously said it would target.

Dubai’s landmark Burj Al Arab hotel was also damaged as overnight Iranian retaliatory attacks spread across the Gulf states and the wider Middle East.

Dubai later confirmed that a drone was intercepted, and debris caused a minor fire on the Burj Al Arab’s facade.

Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. 

The Burj Al Arab hotel has long been ⁠one of the emirate’s most recognisable symbols. Opened in 1999 ‌on an ​artificial island off Jumeirah Beach, the sail-shaped tower quickly became an emblem of a city intent on projecting ​luxury on a ‌global scale.

Airlines that cross the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will add hours to those flights and consume additional fuel, adding to the costs airlines will have to absorb. So ticket prices could quickly start to increase if the conflict lingers. 

The added flights will also put pressure on air traffic controllers in Saudi Arabia who might have to slow traffic to make sure they can handle it safely. 

But it is unclear how long the disruption to flight operations could last. For comparison, the Israeli and US attack on Iran in June 2025 lasted 12 days.

Australian leaders have thrown their support behind United States and Israeli attacks on Iran amid reports the Islamic regime’s leader has been killed.

Tehran has been pounded by explosions and air strikes after US President Donald Trump announced a “massive and ongoing” operation to topple the Iranian administration.

It has led global airlines to suspend flights across the Middle East, alongside changes to travel warnings for popular destinations such as Doha and Dubai.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly been killed in the strikes, a development Mr Trump described as a “correct story”.

A meeting of Australia’s national security committee, involving Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other senior government ministers, is due to take place on Sunday morning.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has urged Australians to delay all travel to the Middle East, including to the United Arab Emirates.

“Military conflict in the region may result in widespread movement restrictions, airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions,” the warning said.

Both Dubai and Doha are popular destinations for Australian expats.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement on Saturday, saying Australia stood with the people of Iran in their struggle against oppression.

“For decades, the Iranian regime has been a destabilising force, through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxies and brutal acts of violence and intimidation,” Mr Albanese said.

Australia and its international partners called on the Iranian regime to uphold the human rights of its citizens, the prime minister added.

“Instead, the regime has instigated a brutal crackdown on its own people leaving thousands of Iranian civilians dead,” he said.

“A regime that relies on the repression and murder of its own people to retain power is without legitimacy.”

Mr Albanese also pointed to recent Iranian attacks on Australian soil, including those targeting Jewish communities.

Iran’s ambassador was expelled in August 2025 after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation found Tehran was behind at least two anti-Semitic arson attacks on home soil, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor described the current Iranian regime as “authoritarian, anti-Semitic and abhorrent”.

“Since 1979, the revolutionary Islamic government in Tehran has oppressed, imprisoned and murdered Iranians,” Mr Taylor added.

“We pray for the Iranian people at this time. May courage prevail.”

Mr Albanese said a diplomatic crisis centre has been established

“Our ability to provide consular assistance in Iran is extremely limited,” he said.

“Australians should leave now if it is safe to do so.”