Here’s our story on Albanese’s national address:

You can read the national address in full here:

Albanese finishes his national address by saying:

The months ahead may not be easy. I want to be upfront about that.

No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing. I can promise we will do everything we can to protect Australia from the worst of it.

These are uncertain times. But I am absolutely certain of this: we will deal with these global challenges, the Australian way. Working together and looking after each other. As we always have.

Thank you and good evening.

Enjoy your Easter.

If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need – just fill up like you normally would.

Think of others in your community, in the bush and in critical industries.

And over coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so.

That builds our reserves and it saves fuel for people who have no choice but to drive.

Farmers and miners and tradies who need diesel, every single day.

And all those shift workers and nurses, who do so much for our country.

Anthony Albanese says:

We are working to bring the price of fuel down.

To make more fuel here and to keep it onshore. And get more fuel here – using our strong trading relationships with our region to bring more petrol, diesel and fertiliser to Australia.

Now, it’s the Australian way that people want to do their bit – and there are simple ways that you can.

You should go about your business and your life, as normal.

The prime minister continues:

On Monday, national cabinet adopted the national fuel security plan.

Leaders from both sides of politics, from right around the country, working together to keep Australia moving.

Making sure that we are prepared so that if the global situation gets worse, and our fuel supplies are seriously disrupted over the long term, we can coordinate the next steps together.

Today, we cut the fuel excise in half.

Cutting the tax on every litre of petrol by 26 cents.

Those savings have started showing up at your petrol station.

For our truckies, we have cut the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero.

Both these measures will be in place for the next three months.

Albanese among a handful of PMs to address Australia during a crisis

Not long now until the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, addresses the nation – a rare move, saved for times of crisis.

Caitlin Cassidy has taken a look at previous prime ministerial addresses, including Scott Morrison on Covid, Kevin Rudd on the global financial crisis, and John Howard on the invasion of Iraq (you’ll remember how that turned out):

Dave Sharma: we should not ‘over-interpret’ Trump’s comments

Liberal senator Dave Sharma is also critical of the Trump administration, in a more understated way. He describes Trump’s “dynamic” approach:

We always have to be very careful with this particular president in seeking to over-interpret or to put too much weight on any of his particular words.

Zomi Frankcom should receive Order of Australia, says Husic

Husic is also asked about Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza. He said Frankcom’s family was right to demand answers about what happened, and that he didn’t think the Netanyahu government had “fully cooperated”.

There should be an apology and reparation extended, he said:

And I think the other thing that’s been called for is a humanitarian prize, or award to be established to recognise the contribution of humanitarian workers in terrible circumstances where they put their life on the line to help others.

And … I think it would be an important gesture too that a posthumous Order of Australia be extended to Zomi Frankcom.

More on Anthropic’s deal with the government

Here are some more details on that government deal with AI firm Anthropic, thanks to the excellent crew at AAP. The agreement will mean the company shares findings on the risks and capabilities of AI, collaborates with research institutions, and takes part in safety and secuity evaluations, working with Australia’s AI Safety Institute.

Anthropic makes the Claude chatbot.

Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, warned about the dangers of AI in the hands of countries with sophisticated surveillance states:

On the international stage, I see it as a military competition.

AI is a powerful technology and I don’t want autocracies to be militarily more powerful than democracies.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government wanted to make sure that building datacentres to run AI in Australia (which are very energy intensive) came with “obligations”, including:

Natural resource management, water obviously, energy and a whole range of relevant factors.

Greens introduce bill to allow people to switch off ‘toxic algorithms’

The Greens have introduced a bill to “put people back in control of their feeds”. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, their communications spokesperson, compared “big tech” to “big tobacco”:

[It’s] an industry profiting from selling addictive toxic and harmful products.

Toxic algorithms amplify outrage, fear and division because it keeps users hooked and profits high.

If passed, the bill would allow users to switch off the algorithm that determines their feed and put a digital duty of care on tech companies.

Labor’s Anthropic agreement will ensure AI ‘works for Australians, not the other way around’, Charlton says

Charlton is also talking about a memorandum of understanding the government has signed with AI company Anthropic on AI safety research. He says the purpose of it is to “make sure that artificial intelligence works for Australians, not the other way around”.

He is asked about the copyright arrangements – amid concerns about how AI uses other people’s work without permission – and says the government has been clear that it’s “not weakening Australia’s copyright laws”. He said:

We are not entertaining a text and data mining exemption.

Thanks, Krishani, for all you do! And folks, please do not be expecting any brilliance. I’ll be lucky if I can buff myself past dull. Fortunately we have a whole swag of shining star reporters who will deliver on the brilliance for you all!

Thank you all for joining me on the blog this sitting week, I’ll leave you with the brilliant Tory Shepherd for the rest of the afternoon.

Take care!

Chris Bowen expects spot cargoes of fuel to increase

The Nationals MP Michelle Landry does a bit of a copy-and-paste of an earlier question, asking if any more shipments of fuel to Australia have been cancelled or delayed.

Chris Bowen says the prime minister has already answered that question, and he gives a very similar answer.

He says he doesn’t know what “case” the opposition is trying to make:

There were six ships scheduled to arrive, sometime in April, that were cancelled, and they have been replaced and then replaced by more with three spot cargoes. And I expect that number of spot cargoes to increase materially with the passage of the government’s bill to enable export finance Australia to support the import of fuel.

Andrew Gee asks for support package for businesses ‘smashed’ by road closure in his electorate

Independent MP Andrew Gee has a major road closure in his electorate and has spent weeks trying to push the federal government to do something about it.

This morning he tried to suspend standing orders in the house to get the government to act, and is now asking Anthony Albanese if the government will offer a support package for local businesses “smashed” by the closure.

Albanese tells Gee to talk to the NSW government about fixing the road closure, and that the latest advice is that the section of road will be closed for three months.

He says the government this morning announced support for small businesses who are being hit by the crisis in the Middle East, which could also help businesses in his electorate, and adds:

New South Wales has also put in place significant support for business and commuters.

Rowland says framework for automated decision making is under development

Since the robodebt royal commission, the government has still not established a legislated framework for automated decision-making, to avoid it happening ever again, says the independent MP Kate Chaney. She asks when the government will put forward a framework.

The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, says the government is still developing a “consistent whole-of-government framework for the use of automated decision-making”.

Rowland says the government is undertaking consultation and engagement on the design of the framework but that it is coming.

I can assure the member, the framework is being developed carefully and methodically to ensure that it supports innovation whilst maintaining strong protections for individuals, especially where decisions affect rights, entitlements or obligations, and striking that right balance is essential.

Who knew so much would happen during a dixer?

During a question to the assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, on the government’s reforms to combat unfair and “jerk” pricing, Liberal MP Andrew Wallace gets yeeted out.

Then Mulino delivered this sledge:

There are many products that deliver little or no value. Subscriptions to news sites that you only use once, ongoing charges for apps that your kids downloaded, or membership of the Liberal party.

Dan Tehan, no doubt unhappy with the drive-by, gets up to protest. He doesn’t get very far but Milton Dick tells Mulino to be relevant.

‘We’ll all have a happy life’ if people wait for Speaker’s call in QT

Dan Tehan is up next with a list of demands from the government, as they call for more transparency over Australia’s fuel supplies.

He asks if the government will commit to releasing the number of service stations which are out of fuel, detailed fuel stock holdings by locations, and the number of ships bound for Australia every day.

Anthony Albanese says he’ll “commit to continuing to be transparent”, and says he’s done lots of press conferences and National Press Club addresses.

Tehan stands up to make a point of order, he doesn’t get the call but starts talking anyway, which Milton Dick does absolutely not like.

Tehan says he was “baited by the PM”, while Dick tells everyone to just wait for his call:

It would assist greatly if people are taking points of order, they wait for the call and they simply state the point of order, and we’ll all have a happy life. At least my life will be happier.

He gets a big chuckle across the chamber.

People should be able to ‘watch sport and not see a link between sport and gambling’, PM says

Over to the crossbench, and Andrew Wilkie asks what the “veracity” is of a report in the Sydney Morning Herald that the prime minister will soon announce reforms to online gambling ads.

Wilkie and others have been pushing the government for years to address the issue, while it still hasn’t responded to a report led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy that was handed down nearly three years ago.

Anthony Albanese won’t confirm anything and says the government hasn’t made any decisions on the policy.

But his language is interesting – since he was asked for an update on gambling by independent MP Kate Chaney a few weeks ago – specifying that the government wants young people to “be able to watch sport and not see a link between sport and gambling”.

Albanese says that the government continues to work on reform.

We haven’t concluded what we’re doing … I think that we need to get absolutely the balance right between people’s right to have a punt and the view that I have, which is that it is too prevalent, and that people, particularly young people, should be able to watch sport and not see a link between sport, necessarily, and gambling, that we need to de-link those issues.

Angus Taylor asks if further fuel shipments have been cancelled

Have any additional fuel carriers bound for Australia been delayed or cancelled, asks Angus Taylor, since the government announced last month that six shipments had been cancelled (and subsequently replaced).

Anthony Albanese says his answer hasn’t changed since Monday, that those shipments were replaced, and an additional nine fuel shipments are scheduled to arrive this month.

Chris Bowen also said yesterday that there are currently 53 ships with fuel en route to Australia. He said on average 81 shipments arrive each month, and the next month is on track to receive that amount.

Albanese turns to our Asia Pacific neighbours (from whom we import a lot of fuel), and says that Australia expects reciprocation from our gas exports.

We continue to engage as well with our international partners. There’s a range of further discussions will take place over future days, including over Easter, [we] will continue to engage with our partners. We’re a reliable supplier of energy security around our region. We expect that to be reciprocated.

Victoria expands phone ban to private and Catholic schools

Jacinta Allan’s press conference this morning was held at St Aloysius Catholic College in North Melbourne, where she announced an expansion of the government’s nation-leading phone ban to all private and Catholic schools.

Allan also announced new legislation would crack down on wearable devices like smart watches and wireless earbuds.

Under the proposed laws, mobile phones must be switched off and stored away during school hours across all Victorian schools, and personal audio devices also cannot be used. Wearable devices would be restricted, with notifications, cellular connections and recording functions switched off.

If passed, the changes would come into effect from term one in 2027. Exemptions would apply for students who need devices to monitor health conditions. Allan said:

Victoria was the first state in the nation to ban mobile phones in classrooms. We did this in 2020 and it was an important step in supporting the work of teachers and staff in the classroom, to manage the disruptive impact these devices were having in the classroom and also to make sure that kids are given every opportunity to make the most of their learning … Since that time we’ve seen so many other jurisdictions around the country have followed Victoria’s lead [and] it’s worked – classrooms have been less disruptive, students have been able to focus better on their classes.

Asked whether legislation was necessary, the education minister and deputy premier, Ben Carroll, said:

It sends a very strong signal, a bit like the social media ban, when parents and teachers and principals can be up there at the classroom saying, ‘This is the law. It’s not just me telling you, we need you to follow these rules and guidance.’ It’s evidence-based best practice and evidence-based policy. And the great announcement today is that we’re bringing every school, every school student, under the one umbrella of the legislation.

Parkinson backs fuel excise cut, but says long-term measures needed

Back to Martin Parkinson at the National Press Club, who says it was “unrealistic” to not expect the government would provide extra cost of living support to Australians, despite warnings the cut to the fuel excise could further intensify inflationary pressures.

Parkinson said there was room in the May budget for longer-term reforms and short-term support for those badly affected by the spike in fuel prices associated with the Iran war.

Governments are elected to make trade-offs, and they’ve got to think about the politics and the economics of this.

Just think about what’s happened to the price of fuel – that is incredibly inflationary. And the excise tax cut is only taking a little bit off the top of that inflationary pressure.

So the argument that I’ve seen, ‘oh, it’s a bad thing to do’ – the community got used to support in Covid. And it’s unrealistic to expect that governments would not have done something.

The question is, what are you going to do for the medium and longer term that’s going to result in reduced inflationary pressure and greater growth in living standards? And that comes back to a reform and productivity agenda.

Greens say AI deal needs ‘parliamentary scrutiny’, warning Labor not to ‘sell out’ artists to AI companies

The Greens have warned government deals with AI companies must not “sell out” Australian creators, journalists and the environment, after Labor signed a memorandum of understanding with the AI giant Anthropic.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the creative sector is concerned the signing of the deal is a “signal that the Albanese government has gone weak on artist and journalist protections”.

She’s calling on the government to release the details of the agreement signed today.

There are serious questions about the impact this deal will have on our environment and creative sectors. Datacentres have a huge environmental footprint. They use massive amounts of water and energy and impact biodiversity.

The Australian government must put the interests of Australians above massive multinational tech companies. This deal needs parliamentary scrutiny and we will be pursuing all options available to us.

Martin Parkinson predicts ‘long-lasting effects’ from Iran war

Martin Parkinson says the “consequences” and the “forces that have been unleashed by this war are going to have long-lasting effects”.

The former Treasury secretary said even if the war ended tomorrow, the practical realities of restarting and repairing oil and gas infrastructure, and getting ships loaded and in and out of the Middle East, meant the resumption of pre-conflict levels of trade through the strait of Hormuz “is going to take a considerable amount of time”.

Answering questions at the National Press Club, Parkinson said “to me, the issue is not so much the here and now”.

I don’t think we’re in a situation of stagflation today, but I do think there’s a risk. And I emphasise risk; it’s not guaranteed it’s going to happen, but there is a risk that we could find ourselves in that situation, and that risk goes up the longer the conflict goes on.

Depending on how the conflict is resolved, then that could have really big, quite different impacts on supply and price going forward.

One Nation MPs front press in South Australia

The new One Nation MP for MacKillop, Jason Virgo, has dismissed his time as a candidate for the Australian Sex Party as the crazy antics of a teenager.

Pauline Hanson’s party is claiming four lower house seats and three upper after South Australia’s state election, although one House of Assembly spot (Narungga) is too close to call and is undergoing a recount.

The former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, One Nation’s leader in the upper house, fronted a press conference earlier today with the MPs and said their strong showing, with a primary vote at 22.5%, was a credit to Hanson and party president Carlos Quaremba.

Virgo was asked if he would import any of the Australian Sex Party’s policies, which included pushing for same-sex marriage, dying with dignity, and decriminalising drugs. “I was a kid,” he said.

I think every person out there when they were 16 and 19 were probably doing some crazier things than joining a political party.

Bernardi talked about the minor party’s policies including scrapping the state’s voice to parliament and ending net zero commitments.

He said ambulance ramping – a key issue at the election – could be fixed by letting ambulance officers tell people who have called them that they do not need an ambulance because it was “like a friendship service for some people”, and to fix bed shortages you could put up to 10 recliner chairs in a single-bed ward for people to see a doctor and be discharged.

He also guaranteed “100%” that the One Nation MPs would stick with the party (which has a long history of defectors).

Quaremba said “you only have to look at the fuel prices that we’re facing now” (which have spiked because of the war) to see the failings of the two major parties.

No one asked the MPs about allegations their leader’s rhetoric on immigration was “reprehensible”, “bigoted” and “wrong”.

Victorian government backs NSW GST plan

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, held a press conference this morning, where she threw her support behind a proposal from New South Wales to pass on a GST windfall from soaring fuel prices through lower prices at the bowser.

It follows a meeting of first ministers on Tuesday, during which the NSW government proposed that all states should pass on the windfall. The NSW government claims this move would cut fuel prices by an estimated seven to 10 cents a litre, in addition to the drop already expected from the federal government’s temporary halving of the fuel excise.

Victorian government sources say the leaders failed to reach a consensus during the meeting. Allan suggested to the group that if states couldn’t agree, the additional revenue could instead be redirected to support the struggling agricultural sector.

But on Wednesday, Allan told reporters she backed the NSW plan. She said:

I don’t want to go into [details] too much, because I want to respect my colleagues in the room. We agreed on a nationally consistent approach. We agreed on the principle of using the GST to further reduce prices at the pump. Our officials needed to do some work on the quantum and the mechanism to deliver that and that work has been undertaken over the course of yesterday, which has given me the opportunity to be able to confirm today, Victoria’s position on applying the GST to further reduce fuel prices at the pump … We support the use of the GST to further drive down fuel prices at the pump.

She said state and territory officials were working through the details of the plan today. However, Allan would not confirm whether she had advice that it would reduce petrol prices by seven to 10 cents a litre.

There is some complexity in terms of how the GST is collected and the mechanism. So I think let’s be a little fair to our officials who need some time to work through those numbers. But the prinicpal position is absolutely clear – GST applying to further reduce fuel prices at the pump, supporting the halving of the fuel excise as announced by the prime minister.

Allan added that she would continue to advocate for support for the agriculture sector:

This is not an issue that’s not going away, and it continues to be a priority for me.

Aussie shares spike as Trump signals end to Iran war

Australia’s share market has bounced on hopes the US-led war on Iran could end soon after President Donald Trump said negotiations were going well, AAP reports.

The S&P/ASX200 jumped 146.2 points by midday, up 1.72%, to 8,629, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 156.9 points, or 1.81%, to 8,840.8.

The local rally followed a strong Wall Street session, when Donald Trump flagged the US military campaign could end “within ​two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe ⁠three”.

While Trump has promised an end to the conflict on several occasions, his latest comments appeared the most definitive to date, Betashares chief economist David Bassanese said.

Trump’s final calculation appears relatively straightforward.

Brent crude has eased from around $US108 a barrel to $US104.30, still up more than 40% since the US campaign began on 28 February.

The potentially improved outlook for global growth sent Australian investors flocking to basic materials stocks, with the sector jumping 4.6% by midday and tracking similar gains for miners BHP and Rio Tinto.

Beaten-down gold stocks performed even better, as the precious metal lifted to US$4,700 an ounce, boosting the All Ordinaries gold sub-industry by almost 6%.

Fuel shortages down at NSW service stations before excise cut

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, says fuel shortages in the state have reduced slightly ahead of consumer relief being passed on by the cut in the federal excise.

At a press conference today, the premier said 30 fuel stations in NSW had no fuel, down from the 61 provided in an update by the federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, yesterday. The premier said the number of stations without diesel has dropped from 247 to 207.

He said his “strong suspicion is that that’s as a result of consumers waiting for the excise to be cut before they fill up their tank”.

The premier was also asked about NSW’s proposal to other states to pass on the GST windfall on as an additional reduction in fuel prices, which the state government says would lead to an additional reduction of 7 to 10 cents a litre.

Minns said NSW cannot pursue the policy alone after state and territory leaders did not agree to it yesterday, saying the distribution of the GST windfall from increased fuel prices, announced by the federal government on Monday, requires a unanimous agreement from the states.

Asked if the prime minister supported NSW’s proposal, Minns said:

Yeah, I think he’d like to see the GST windfall come off the excise as the easiest way of passing on cost of living relief in the shortest possible time.

One Nation voters turn to ‘reverse shy-Toryism’

One Nation voters could be so chuffed with their choices they’re wrongly saying they supported them in the past (when they didn’t).

Polling outfit Fox and Hedgehog say they’re happy with their polls (which put One Nation at a primary vote of 21% for the South Australian election – they’re currently at 22.5%), and noted there were “unusually high levels of recalled past vote for One Nation, well above its historical vote share”.

It’s a well-established phenomenon, it says, where voters match up how they voted in the past with their current political preference.

As a party grows, some voters begin to report that they supported it previously, even when they did not …

In the context of One Nation, we refer to this dynamic as a form of ‘reverse shy-Toryism’. We don’t see a reluctance of One Nation voters to disclose their support, rather a tendency to retrospectively claim it for past elections.

(Shy Tories are the ones who won’t say they voted for the, in some circles, unpopular party).

Which other prime ministers have made an address to the nation?

There have been just a few addresses to the nation by prime ministers in this century – with Anthony Albanese to join those ranks when his address is broadcast across TV and radio stations tonight.

Here are a few examples (this is not an exhaustive list!):

On 12 March 2020, Scott Morrison made a televised address to the nation near the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Before him, Kevin Rudd made an address to the nation on 14 October 2008, where he announced a $10.4bn economic stimulus package.

On 20 March 2003, John Howard made an address to the nation announcing Australian troops would be sent to Iraq.

Howard had already made another address to the nation, on 30 November 1997, when he announced a plan in response to the Wik high court decision.

On 15 November 1993, Paul Keating made a televised address in response to the high court’s Mabo decision.

O’Neil defends PM’s planned address and points to ‘huge amount of clarity’ during fuel crisis

Government frontbencher Clare O’Neil says that prime ministers will make national addresses “in times of great challenge” and has rejected claims Anthony Albanese has not provided enough clarity.

Speaking to Sky News, O’Neil says there has been a “huge amount of clarity” and says the government is doing what it should be to address the crisis.

I think it’s fairly clear that what’s going on in the Middle East is having widespread ramifications.

The prime minister will be talking about the status of what’s going on in Iran and the plans that the government has to protect the Australian community from the worst.

She says any politician would know that the message from the crisis is that Australia needs to be able to “stand on its own two feet”. She says that particularly goes to the expansion of renewable energy.

There isn’t a global power that can stop us from using the sun and wind that we’ve been gifted as endowments to Australia.

Australia should give ‘full consideration’ to any request for support in strait of Hormuz, says Taylor

Angus Taylor says the government should fully consider any request made to join efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz, but says he doesn’t know what Australia’s current capability is.

Earlier this morning, Ted O’Brien said it would be in Australia’s “national interest” to support any international efforts.

Taylor says the government hasn’t done enough to boost defence capacity.

We should absolutely be giving it full consideration … this is an opportunity for us to work with the government to provide whatever support is feasible. What we don’t know is, what is feasible? Are there any shifts that could go? What other capability could go, I don’t know the answers to those questions, because the government doesn’t tell us.

Prime minister’s address to the nation to be broadcast at 7pm AEDT

A bit more context to that earlier post from Tom McIlroy.

The prime minister’s address to the nation will be broadcast across all TV and radio networks simultaneously at 7pm AEDT tonight.

It’s not the first time a prime minister has delivered an address like this – we also saw national addresses during the Covid pandemic and global financial crisis.

The PM will outline the government’s response to the Middle East crisis and encourage Australians to play their part by saving fuel for areas and industries that need it most.

Anthony Albanese will also separately address the National Press Club tomorrow.

States ‘need to get their skates on’ to settle on GST return after fuel price windfall

Jim Chalmers says he wants to see the states quickly make a deal on returning part of their GST windfall from higher fuel prices – which was agreed to at the national cabinet.

The sticking point is that the states are trying to figure out how to return that windfall, when they all receive very different amounts of GST revenue from the federal government.

Chalmers says the prime minister did a “good job” in making the states agree to return some of that GST, but now it needs to actually get done.

We don’t want to see this drag out for ever. We don’t want to see the states and territories at war over this. We want to see the relief flow to motorists.

Was it a mistake letting the states try to figure it out themselves? Chalmers says he doesn’t believe so, and says he’s “not going to be part of a kind of unseemly brawl about this”, but that an agreement needs to be made “ASAP”.

Maximising economic benefits and minimising risk: Chalmers on AI agreement

Chalmers says he’ll be meeting with Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, later today, after the company just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government.

The treasures is asked whether the company has given any assurances around water security, energy and copyright.

Chalmers says the agreements with individual companies on AI are “about maximising the economic benefits of AI and minimising the risks to people and communities”.

Obviously we want to make sure that this massive interest in datacentre investment in our country comes with obligations, including natural resource management, water, obviously energy, a whole range of relevant factors here.

Is the Treasury modelling a recession scenario?

Jim Chalmers is asked whether the Treasury is modelling “negative growth” (which would mean a recession scenario) as a result of the war in the Middle East.

The treasurer says broadly that Treasury is modelling a range of different scenarios.

He doesn’t rule out that recession conditions are being considered, but reiterates that the sooner the war ends, the better for everyone.

The more substantial the oil shock, the longer that the war drags on, the longer it takes for the global economy to get the show back on the road. Obviously, those are the key considerations in that modelling, and the longer the shock drags out, obviously, the harsher the consequences for our economy, whether that’s measured by inflation or by growth or by impacts on the labour market.

Australians didn’t choose this war. They’re paying the price for this war at the petrol bowser and more broadly as well. From an economic point of view, this war can’t end soon enough, but the consequences will linger for longer.

He says again that the two previous scenarios, that forecast inflation in the “high fours or low fives” are now considered to be “conservative”, but he won’t put a new number on it.

Chalmers says the government and Treasury will continue working through various scenarios and forecasts.

Support will ‘shield small businesses from the worst’, says Aly

The small business minister, Anne Aly, says it’s tough at the best of times for small businesses to operate, but these measures will help “shield small businesses from the worst of these global shocks that are due to the war in the Middle East”.

Aly says the government has consulted with small businesses and peak bodies to put together today’s measures.

We can’t control the war in the Middle East. We can’t stop the war in the Middle East, but what a responsible government can do is to do everything that it can to shield its citizens and to shield small businesses.

Business Council of Australia chief executive, Bran Black, is also at the press conference and endorses the collaboration between government and industry.

He says, “we need a genuine Team Australia response that’s not empty rhetoric.”

Support for vulnerable Australians at risk due to fuel crisis: Acoss

The Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) says frontline services are struggling to operate, and are concerned they will lose volunteers as the fuel crisis worsens.

The body says challenges are increasing for services that provide in-home support for Australians – including aged care, mental health and disability services.

It says recent survey data shows that more than 75% of community transport organisations will become financially unviable when diesel prices reach $3.50 per litre.

The government’s cut to the fuel excise, which will reduce prices by 26.3 cents per litre, came into effect today.

Acoss says First Nations Australians in remote communities are also particularly impacted by the crisis.

Cassandra Goldie, Acoss chief executive, said:

Our members are reporting staff who can’t get to clients, volunteers not showing up, and food supply chains breaking down. This is happening while multiple states and territories are simultaneously dealing with extreme weather events.

Butler also avoids ‘daily commentary’ on Trump

The government has reaffirmed it will not send troops to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The health minister, Mark Butler, spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, and said Australia only remains involved in a small defensive capacity, providing a military aircraft to support the United Arab Emirates.

We don’t have any plans to do that. I think that’s been made clear by a number of ministers, we are involved in some defensive operations to protect those innocent neighbours, particularly the UAE, where there are many thousands of Australians as expats. We don’t have any plans to participate in military activities in the strait.

Butler also avoids making running commentary on Donald Trump, and says despite the escalation in the Middle East, he believes the alliance and Aukus agreement with the US is rock solid.

We’re very confident about the future of Aukus, the US, president, the administration, more broadly, the Congress, has made clear its commitment to that important security partnership …

This is why we don’t provide a daily commentary on the remarks made by the US president. We’re focused on the substance of our relationship.

In a similar vein, Labor frontbencher Catherine King told RN Breakfast this morning: “We’ve said right at the start of all of this, we wouldn’t be running a running commentary on everything that President Trump has saying.”

‘I’d be a very busy boy’: O’Brien avoids judgment on Trump’s comments

Asked what he made of Donald Trump’s comments, telling European allies to “get your own oil”, Ted O’Brien says he wouldn’t comment.

Trump on his Truth Social website overnight, told European governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher.

On AM, O’Brien said either way the strait of Hormuz is still blocked, and should be unblocked.

I’ve deliberately avoided making a running commentary on the comments from the president, I’d be a very busy boy if I did otherwise.

I think though, if you look through the language and the tone of the president to the key issue here, we have the strait of Hormuz still effectively blocked. It is in the globe’s interest, indeed, it is in Australia’s national interest for it to be opened.

Australia contributing to offensive action in strait of Hormuz ‘in national interest’, says shadow foreign minister

The opposition says we should be “open” to sending assets and personnel to open up the strait of Hormuz, but questioned Australia’s capability.

Speaking to ABC’s AM program this morning, shadow foreign minister Ted O’Brien said supporting action to open up the strait would be in Australia’s national interest.

The key question is, is it in our national interest? And my view is yes, it is. The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense, that part of the equation we are yet to understand? And I think they’re the two questions that need to be answered … but I believe we should be open to making contribution.

But he clarified that would not mean sending “boots on the ground” into Iran or participating directly in the war.

O’Brien said supporting efforts to clear the strait are “not unlike previous conversations” where the government deployed the E7-A wedge tail aircraft and personnel with bipartisan support.