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Opinion: At present, we find ourselves inundated with a seemingly endless wave of distressing news.
The Middle East is embroiled in conflict, fuel prices are reaching unprecedented heights, and gas stations are facing shortages. Meanwhile, inflation and interest rates show no signs of slowing down.
In such turbulent times, a sense of stability is what we yearn for, yet it appears our leaders are failing to deliver.
nation, expectations were high. Prime-time speeches from our leaders are rare.
The last significant address came from Scott Morrison in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis. Before that, Kevin Rudd addressed the nation in 2009 about the global financial crisis, and John Howard announced Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war in 2003.
about what Anthony Albanese might reveal, but it turned out to be a major let-down.
There have been no new major announcements—just reiterations of information already shared in press conferences or media releases. The message remains for Australians to remain calm, conserve fuel where possible, and try to enjoy the Easter holiday.
No details or plans on how the country will cope if the war in Iran drags on, and what we’ll do
to keep the country moving after the planned fuel shipments to Australia arrive and the Strait
of Hormuz stays shut, stopping new supplies from getting through.
After that disappointment, the world then watched on as US President Donald Trump walked
up to the lectern in the Oval Office of the White House to deliver a prime-time address to the
American people.
Again expectations were high that big news was coming. Financial
markets rallied on the hope the Commander in Chief would be announcing an end to the
conflict.
was winning hard, delivered more justification for bombing Iran in the first place, and in his
usual style had mixed messages on what’s coming next.
He claimed the war would be over in two-to-three weeks, but vowed to bomb Iran back into the dark
ages, where he said they belonged.
The financial markets tanked on the back of his aggressive tone, reflecting the uneasy
feeling that comes with even more uncertainty.
The gloom also deepened for the rest of the world being impacted by a war we had no say in
from President Trump’s lack of concern about oil shipments being blocked. Just buy more oil
from America he said – or allies should just ‘take’ the strait of Hormuz themselves.
At least we got something to smile about. The launch of the first crewed mission to the Moon
in more than 50 years with the Artemis II is a rare bright spot. Let’s hope the entire 10-day
journey continues in the same way it started – an overwhelming success.
We need all the good news we can get.