News of a fragile ceasefire has done little to calm anxieties about the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has choked shipping and the United States has responded with a targeted maritime blockade.

Concerns are growing the strait could begin to function less as an open waterway and more as a “tollway”.

Such a shift would challenge a maritime order long underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its support for norms of freedom of navigation.

Around 99% of Australia’s international trade moves by sea, so any erosion of freedom of navigation norms would be of serious concern.

Disruptions to trade flows through the Persian Gulf have rippled across global supply chains. The crisis exposes how deeply Australia’s economy and society depends on secure maritime routes.

In Australia, and globally, food security is also linked to access to oil.

Fossil fuels are entwined at every link in the food chain – from fertilisers and transport to packaging and refrigeration. These disruptions in energy supply will be felt across the entire food system.

Australia’s food system needs shipping

There is a long-standing myth that Australia produces more food than it needs.

But while we........

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