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TRANSCRIPT:
Australia has joined talks over the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is meeting online with counterparts from 35 countries to discuss the crucial oil waterway that has been closed to ships since US-Israeli strikes launched on Iran in February.
The US has not been invited.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says that the nations will assess what contributions can be taken to restore navigation in the strait.
"Whatever we see from the president, Australia will act in its own national interest in terms of our engagement in the middle east and you've seen that in terms of the decisions that we've made. And we are providing a significant platform in the E-7 wedgetail to help in support of the countries of the Gulf, in particular the U-A-E."
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Donald Trump has declared the core strategic objectives of the US operation in Iran are close to completion.
Delivering his first address to the nation since the first strikes, the US President has said Iran's navy and its defence industrial base have largely been eliminated.
He maintains the operation is expected to conclude within 2 to 3 weeks.
But Trump says if a deal is not reached soon, the US plans a substantial intensification of strikes.
"We're going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders' death. They're all dead. The new group is less radical and much more reasonable."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also delivered a national address to urge Australians to remain calm and support each other amid the ongoing fuel crisis.
In his three-minute televised speech, Mr Albanese has called for Australians to fill up their vehicles as normal for the upcoming Easter holiday, and warned the economic shocks caused by the war in the Middle East could last for some time.
"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."
The Opposition has heavily criticised the national address.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has called it unnecessary and scaremongering.
"What we need now is we need a plan. We need detail about the situation Australians are facing. Australians want to know if they are able to go away for Easter and get home again."
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A key report on hate speech protections is still sitting on the Attorney General's desk in New South Wales, despite repeated calls for its release.
Michael Daley commissioned respected former Supreme Court judge, John Sackar, to conduct the review of the state's racial and religious hate crimes law in May 2025.
The review was prompted by concerns raised by some marginalised groups.
It was handed to the government in November, but the report has been kept under wraps since.
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Residents of north Queensland communities hit by cyclone Narelle last week, could face another cyclone in the coming days.
Meteorologists are monitoring a tropical low weather system forming off the Solomon Islands, which could develop into a cyclone by Sunday.
Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology say there is around a 55 percent chance of that happening.
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NASA has launched four astronauts into space, in the first crewed moon mission in 50 years.
Australia will play a crucial role in keeping the three Americans and one Canadian connected with ground control, with the CSIRO supporting the 10-day mission around the Moon.
Senior NASA test director Jeff Spaulding says this mission is one of a multibillion-dollar series to build up a long-term U.S. presence on the moon over the next decade and beyond.
"I think everybody understands what our mission is... So I think there's a lot of excitement and fervor within all of the groups that are out there, but especially here at Kennedy. The folks that I see are very, very excited to get on with this mission and then get out and get started with the next one."
