Diplomacy provides quick relief for PM’s political headache – but not the underlying condition

April 10, 2026 — 7:45pm

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Singapore: The Istana – Singapore’s classical, colonial-era leaders’ residence – is a long way from outer Sydney and Melbourne. Despite the opulent setting, and the distance, Anthony Albanese’s message was aimed directly at Australia’s suburbs and regions.

Rarely is the purpose of a prime minister’s overseas travel so relevant to Australians’ daily lives. Jargon-heavy communiqués were this week replaced by the most retail of political imperatives: securing oil to deliver petrol price relief and to spare a recession.

Fuel signs with prices starting with a three have made clear to Australians that the nation has been plunged into another inflation outbreak after years of elevated prices.

Much of the crisis is out of Albanese’s control, although government ministers were slow off the mark and tin-earned when the Iran war broke out in late February and petrol........

© The Sydney Morning Herald