4m agoWed 4 Mar 2026 at 8:30pm
Chalmers says Middle East conflict has the potential to affect global growth
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the impact of the Middle East war on the global economy will be determined by how protracted the conflict is.
The treasurer says he’s asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to monitor petrol stations for price gouging.
Asked how he’ll deliver a budget in May amid the Middle East conflict, Chalmers says the war will put more pressure on Australians.
“There are swings and roundabouts when we think about the implications for the budget in May,” Chalmers tells ABC News Breakfast.
“There’s been a lot of focus, understandably, on the potential price pressures but there is also the potential for what’s happening in the Middle East to weigh on global growth, and therefore to weigh on our own growth,” he says.
15m agoWed 4 Mar 2026 at 8:20pm
Australian crisis response teams begin journey to Middle East
(Supplied: DFAT)
The first of six crisis response teams are on their way to the Middle East to help stranded Australians in the region get home.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officials are crisis response specialists who will be deployed across the region to provide consular assistance to Australians.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the team will help Australians get onto flights back to Australia.
But she won’t say where in the region the team will be deployed.
“There’s obviously a great need. We have good people already in the region at the embassies, at the posts, but we need to put additional people on the ground,” Wong says.
20m agoWed 4 Mar 2026 at 8:14pm
Wong says government will help Australians who’ve registered to leave
Asked how the government is prioritising which Australians should leave the region first, Penny Wong says the that’s “challenging”.
The foreign minister says the government is helping people in the region who have registered through the Smartraveller online portal.
Wong says the federal government wants to prioritise the departure of vulnerable passengers.
She hasn’t been able to say how many Australians have registered with the online portal.
“We are working through that registration. At the moment, the airlines are primarily operating who is getting on the flights but we are engaging with them,” Wong says.
“Obviously, where we want to get to is to try and prioritise what we describe as vulnerable passengers.”
26m agoWed 4 Mar 2026 at 8:09pm
Additional three flights scheduled to depart UAE today, Wong says
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says an additional three flights are scheduled to leave the United Arab Emirates today.
But the foreign minister says the situation in the region is fluid and the flights could be prevented from leaving due to military action.
Wong says the environment is “highly unpredictable” and Iran is striking, or attempting to strike more countries.
“This could move very quickly if there is further military activity that makes it unsafe for people to fly; obviously, these flights will not proceed,” Wong says.
“But there are currently three flights due to depart this morning from the UAE, and obviously that would be of great relief to more Australians coming home,” she says.
She says commercial flights are the best way to get out of the region quickly.
38m agoWed 4 Mar 2026 at 7:56pm
Good morning 👋
Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! Thank you for joining us early this Thursday morning.
I’m Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today’s federal politics news.
There’s a bit happening on this parliamentary sitting day, so stay with me.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says three flights are scheduled to depart for Australia from the United Arab Emirates today.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be addressing federal parliament today.
He’ll be the first Canadian PM to speak to Australia’s parliament since Stephen Harper’s address in 2007.
And the Indigenous Australians minister has asked a committee to conduct and inquiry into racism, hate and violence against First Nations people.
Let’s get this show on the road!
