US-Iran war updates: Angus Taylor slams Albanese Government for ‘confusion’ amid fuel crisis

“To Australians watching, thank you for your time. The fuel crisis we face began about five weeks ago. And Australians deserve two things in this difficult period: You deserve clarity and leadership. Regrettably, both have been absent from our government.

“Initially, the government denied there was a crisis. Then, after admitting there was a problem, it failed to act with urgency. The only thing the government has fuelled is confusion.

“Yet, the government deserves credit for adopting the Coalition’s policy to slash the fuel tax – even if it did so belatedly. But in a crisis, Australians deserve a government that’s transparent and gives you the facts every day. Instead, it’s taken persistent Coalition questioning in parliament for this government to release any information.

“It must stop being led – and start leading. And it must come clean. About how many oil shipments are coming into the country. About our fuel stocks. About the number of empty servos. Especially now that Western Australia has declared a state of emergency.

“The risk ahead of us is a patchwork of different rules across the country that leave Australians uncertain. We don’t want to see heavy-handed mandates that restrict people’s freedoms. And governments must be honest with us about taking any such steps.

“Last night, when the Prime Minister addressed the nation, Australians were expecting answers and details. They received neither. Unlike the Prime Minister, I’m not going to talk down to you.

“Almost all Australians will do the right and responsible things in this crisis.We’re a compassionate people with mateship at our core. And whilst there is uncertainty, I’m certain about what we must do. Urgent action is needed to protect our way of life – and to restore our standard of living. That requires leadership.

“I’m calling on the Prime Minister to do three things: First, he must outline how he is going to get fuel to where it’s needed in the short term.

“Second, the Prime Minister must develop a proper longer-term plan – so Australia never finds itself in this position again. We must unlock the full potential of our natural resources – by fast-tracking exploration and projects across the country. We must dig, and we must drill. We need more Australian oil for Australians. We have the resources beneath our feet to secure our future.

“Third, the Prime Minister and Treasurer must use the upcoming budget not just to respond to this crisis, but to set our country up for the future. The bigger task ahead is to rebuild an economy that’s resilient, competitive, and capable of delivering rising living standards.

“I say to Australians: Decline is not inevitable. Damage is not irreparable. With courageous leadership, we can protect our way of life. With strong leadership, we can restore our standard of living.

“And with inspired leadership, we can rediscover confidence in ourselves – at a time when we must look after ourselves and put Australia first.

“Because Australia is worth fighting for, now more than ever.”

In his speech, Angus Taylor outlined the three things he wants the prime minister to do:

“First he must outline how he is going to get fuel to where it’s needed in the short term.

“Second, the prime minister must develop a proper longer-term plan, so Australia never finds itself in this position again, we must unlock the full potential of our natural resources by fast racking exploration and projects across the country. We must dig and we must drill.We need more Australian oil for Australians. We have the resources beneath our feet to secure our future.

“Third the prime minister and treasurer must use the upcoming budget not just to respond to this crisis but to set our country up for the future. The bigger task ahead is to rebuild an economy that is resilient, competitive and capable of delivering rising living standards.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has responded to Anthony Albanese’s national address, claiming the government has fuelled “confusion”.

“The fuel crisis we face began about 5 weeks ago and Australians deserve two things in this difficult period. You deserve clarity and leadership. Regrettably both have been absent from our government,” he said.

He added that the government needs to “stop being led and start leading”.

Mr Taylor criticised the prime minister’s lack of “answers and details”, and said: “Unlike the prime minister I’m not going to talk down on you.”

The US embassy in Iraq is advising American citizens to leave the country now in a statement posted to social media.

“Iran-aligned Iraqi terrorist militias may intend to carry out attacks in central Baghdad within the next 24 to 48 hours,” the statement read.

“These actors may target US citizens, companies, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports, and other sites believed to be associated with the United States, in addition to Iraqi institutions and civilian targets.”

“Do not travel to Iraq for any reason. Leave immediately if you are there.”

Australian shares turned lower and oil jumped on Thursday lunchtime after US President Trump warned its war on Iran will last another two to three weeks and may include bombing of the nation’s oil infrastructure.

The S&P/ASX 200 traded up 0.2 per cent immediately prior to the speech at 8700 points but quickly dropped 67 points to a 0.4 per cent fall on the threats that dashed the market’s hopes of an imminent peace deal.

Benchmark Brent Crude prices also jumped 3 per cent after the speech to $US104.91 a barrel, with US WTI Oil adding a similar amount to $US103.41 a barrel.

US share futures also swung sharply lower to point to a 1.5 per cent fall for the tech heavy Nasdaq Index at the open, versus expectation for a 0.1 per cent gain prior to the speech.

Traders also dumped precious metal gold after the speech as it fell from $US4781 an ounce to $US4670 an ounce at the closing bell in Australia.

The Australian dollar also dropped from buying $US69.5 cents before the speech to $US68.5 cents afterwards.

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Anxiety is growing across the world among America’s longstanding allies about the trajectory of Donald Trump’s presidency, and fears are deepening over the future of security groupings such as NATO and Five Eyes where the United States has played the most important role.

In countries such as Australia, Donald Trump’s “war of choice” in Iran is prompting urgent discussion about self-reliance and debate over whether Washington is still a dependable military partner.

Ahead of his Wednesday evening address from the White House, the President again declared he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from NATO, warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of allies to join the Iran war.

In his nationally televised speech, President Trump again lambasted allies for not helping the United States in opening the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the supply of oil around the globe.

“Build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy,” he declared.

Ever since his first presidency Trump has been vocally sceptical about the benefit of NATO membership to the US, but since member nations have refused to join the US led strikes on Iran, he has increased his rhetorical attacks on the powerful alliance.

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In a 1987 book setting out his philosophical approach to business, relationships and life in general, Donald Trump boasted of his maximalist negotiating approach.

“My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward,” he wrote in The Art of Deal. “I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after.”

Today, the US President is enacting his approach on a global scale.

His 19-minute speech to the world Thursday midday and morning Australian time contained no new information, rhetoric or proposals. The president still managed to freak out investors, sending oil prices up and shares down.

The same day he claimed Iran requested a ceasefire, Mr Trump promised to intensify the war. “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” he said. “We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.”

Iran’s 90 million residents, even those who detest their theocratic rulers, might not be down with the prospect of caveman life. In other words, destroying Iranian society does not appear the best way to liberate it.

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From bombing Iran back to the ‘stone ages’, to telling allies it was up to them to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to blaming Iran entirely for the rise in fuel prices, Donald Trump made some pretty big claims during his address to the nation.

Here are the five biggest takeaways.

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The Prime Minister has cautiously backed Donald Trump’s declaration that the war in the Middle East is “nearing completion” and repeated his own calls for a de-escalation of the conflict with Iran.

Appearing at the National Press Club just minutes after the US President delivered his own address from the White House, Mr Albanese has also been quizzed about criticism of western nations such as Australia for not helping open the Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s a bit hard to comment on President Trump’s statement, which was, I think, done in part while I was sitting up here. But my position, I’ve made very clear, which is, we do want to see a de-escalation,” Mr Albanese said.

“As I said in my speech, the objectives that President Trump outlined at the time of him launching the action against Iran have largely been achieved, and we want to see a de-escalation.”

When pressed on whether it was a welcome sign that President Trump was claiming the US war was “nearing completion”, the Prime Minister said the assessment was “totally consistent with what we are seeing”.

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It may have sounded like US President Donald Trump just used 20 minutes to talk about how good his administration was, however, there were a few key points that will dictate the next few weeks of war with Iran and the flow-on effect.

Two to three weeks

Mr Trump says that the US will continue to hit Iran very hard for “two to three weeks”, adding he is negotiating with a “new regime” during the time.

If a deal is not made, Mr Trump says the US will hit all energy production plants at the same time to ensure Iran has nothing, adding the US would take them back to the “Stone Ages, where they belong”.

Oil and the Strait of Hormuz

Mr Trump told countries that need oil from the Middle East to either buy oil from the US or go in and protect the Strait of Hormuz themselves.

He said, calling out the recent acquisition of Venezuela, that the US did not need oil from the Strait, and would never take oil from Iran.

Nuclear weapons

Justifying Operation Epic Fury, Mr Trump said Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons as they would use them to bring terror and destruction on the world.

He said the regime had been developing new weapons, both missiles and nuclear, that would have been able to hit targets anywhere in the world, including the US homeland.

The inclusion of the justification could likely play a part in when Mr Trump feels ready to pull US military forces out of Iran.