in brief
- Anthony Albanese has criticised Donald Trump's unpredictability in the Middle East.
- He said that the US leader's actions are hurting the world and Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described United States President Donald Trump’s approach to governing as "very difficult for the world" in remarking on Trump's foreign policy backflips.
Trump has come under criticism over his repeated shifts in peace deal deadlines with Iran, and the subsequent economic harms caused by the prolonged war in the Middle East.
Albanese on Wednesday morning described the ongoing war as "uncertain" and "volatile", telling ABC Radio Perth he was not privy to any intelligence as to when the conflict could end.
But he was more certain that Trump's ever-changing positions on the war are hurting economies, including Australia's.
"Two days ago, President Trump was saying he was going to bomb, yesterday he said he wasn’t going to bomb, this morning we awoke to him considering it again," Albanese said.
"It’s very difficult for the world, and we’re impacted by it, and inflation is rising right around the world, including in the United States, but we’re coming through this better than most countries."
It's not the first time Albanese has been critical of the US leader.
Hours before agreeing to a conditional two-week ceasefire last month, Trump posted on Truth Social that "a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again".
In a television interview with Sky News Australia at the time, Albanese said language threatening civilian infrastructure and destruction was not appropriate. He warned that such statements cause international concern.
"We've said very clearly that the conduct of any conflict must be within international law and that provides for making sure that civilians — who aren't parties to the conflict — are given every protection possible," he said.
Global conflict impacting Australia
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has spoken of the impacts of the war in the Middle East and prolonged US-Iran negotiations as cause for concern.
Ahead of the May budget, Chalmers said last month it was "hostage" to decisions made in Washington.
One of the main global disruptions has been fuel supply, due to frequent closures of the Strait of Hormuz in the Arab Gulf, where 20 per cent of global oil ordinarily transits.
When asked about fuel supplies on Wednesday, Albanese said Australia had more petrol, jet fuel and diesel than on 28 February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran.
It's not the first time he's used that line; it was first deployed in a fuel report in April.
"That is due to the hard work that we've put in place, but also the hard work of Australians who are doing the right thing, hoarding and taking more than people need has stopped," he said.
This year's federal budget, handed down last week, included a multi-billion-dollar fuel resilience package, including a $7.5 billion fuel and fertiliser security facility and a $3.2 billion Australian fuel security reserve.
The package is designed to facilitate at least 50 days of onshore fuel supply and storage of diesel and aviation fuel.
Australia has also been ramping up its efforts to secure fuel supplies, with an additional three spot-market diesel cargoes secured in May.
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