Editorial

The way out of this crisis depends significantly on Donald Trump and the leaders of Iran. But what ever happens from here, we are in for a rough time.

The uncertainty around so much of modern life has created a ready-made audience for the messages delivered by One Nation.

If you didn’t spend $5 on sausages but spent it on something else instead you have still spent $5. That ain’t a saving.

The notion that somehow we can just buckle up and wait out the Trump presidency before things ‘return to normal’ has no validity.

Don’t hold your breath for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to acknowledge the Government has been part of Australia’s economic problem.

If the nations Donald Trump has named don’t agree to help in the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese might get a phone call.

It seems unthinkable that we would refuse a US request as it takes on the burden of a war. So why won’t the Government tell us what the US wants and what we have done about it?

The Albanese Government must act before the fuel crisis turns into a full-blown economic crisis.

Can anybody really imagine we would now turn down a request from our most significant ally and security blanket?

If confronted by the need to make a split-second decision, the Australian personnel in the region will not have time to sit back and ponder how to respond.

Should they seek asylum in this country, their families in Iran face imprisonment or worse. If that has not happened already.

Australia’s security has been tied to the US since World War II and remains so. The AUKUS program which has placed our sailors in US facilities is a key part of that.

Should the unthinkable happen and Australia come under direct military threat, it is a sure bet that it will not be a middle power that Australia turns to for help. 

The Treasurer has had plenty of time to rehearse his lines, but he should really study up on history and remember the old principle of saving for a rainy day.

Anthony Albanese must give Australians the clarity and transparency they deserve as the conflict in the Middle East worsens.