Albanese gives tit-for-tat response to Trump’s criticism of Australia over Iran war

Anthony Albanese has pushed back at Donald Trump’s crack at Australia for not providing the United States with as much backing over the Iran war as the president believed it should.

Trump, who made his comment about Australia when asked about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said he was “surprised” at the Australian government’s response.

“[Starmer] didn’t want to help us,” he said. “Australia too, Australia was not great. I was a little surprised by Australia,”

“I wouldn’t say anybody was great other than the five countries in the Middle East.”

In a tit-for-tat response, Albanese reiterated to reporters there had been no request to Australia that had not not been agreed to, and said it was up to Trump “to explain his comments.

"But of course I make the point as well that Australia wasn’t consulted before this action was undertaken, and I respect that. That’s a matter for the United States.

"What Australia is responsible for and what I, as the Prime Minister of Australia, [is] responsible for is Australia’s response. And we’ve been constructive,” he said, noting the military plane Australia sent to the Middle East.

Albanese was speaking at a news conference about the fuel crisis, at which he sought to reassure the public while acknowledging uncertainty about the future and emphasising his commitment to national planning.

“While Australia’s fuel supply outlook remains secure over the near term due to the actions that the government’s taken to date, the government has been clear that the longer this war goes on, the greater the impact will be,” the prime minister said.

“But we continue to act to prepare and shield Australians from the worst of it.”

He stressed the importance of a “truly national coordinated response with all levels of government fulfilling their responsibilities to make sure that the national interest is served”.

Albanese highlighted the need to avoid the COVID experience where responses varied dramatically between governments.

“One of the lessons of the COVID pandemic is that we made a number of decisions as a nation that could have been made better if there was proper consideration. We also had different systems operating across the eight states and territories.”

Meanwhile the federal opposition has called for a halving of the excise on fuel for three months.

In a joint statement Liberal leader Angus Taylor and Nationals leader Matt Canavan said this would reduce fuel prices by about 25 cents a litre. A corresponding cut in the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge should also be provided, they said.

Taylor and Canavan proposed offsets to pay for the relief. These were ending the Electric Car Discount, reversing green hydrogen subsidies and tax credits, and pausing and strengthening integrity controls on the Home Battery Scheme.

“These measures will fully fund the approximate $1.5 billion temporary tax cut for Australian motorists while also easing the broader demand pressures that are driving inflation,” the leaders said.

Asked about this, Albanese said the opposition wanted cuts to things “that are making a difference to cost of living”, such as help for buying batteries and EV support.

“My government has always been strong on cost of living measures. We’ll continue to do so. We do so in a responsible way in the context of our budget considerations,” Albanese said.

The government has previously indicated it has not plans to cut excise.