‘Keep calm; but there’s pain ahead says PM’ | Morning Bulletin 2 April 2026
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin,
- The Prime Minister warns of tough times for the economy, driven by the war in the middle east
- Iran says the US must build trust before attempting to negotiate peace
- And in sport, Iraqis across the world celebrate an historic win over Bolivia at the World Cup qualifiers
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a national address to urge Australians remain calm and support each other amid fuel crisis.
In his three-minute speech, Mr Albanese called for Australians to fill up their vehicles as normal for the upcoming Easter holiday, and reiterated that his government would work on ensuring fuel supply for Australians.
He also warned that the economic shocks caused by the war in the Middle East could last for months.
“The months ahead may not be easy. I want to be upfront about that. No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing. I can promise we will do everything we can to protect Australia from the worst of it. These are uncertain times. But I am absolutely certain of this: we will deal with these global challenges, the Australian way. Working together – and looking after each other.”
The last time a Prime Minister delivered a national address was during the COVID pandemic.
—
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the lack of transparency over the state of Australia’s fuel system.
Mr Albanese delivered a national address on Wednesday evening, during which he urged Australians to avoid panic buying of fuel and opt for public transport to help ease pressures of the ongoing fuel crisis.
Mr Taylor told channel 10 the Albanese government needs to give more details about Australia’s current fuel storage, if they want to bring back Australians’ confidence on fuel reserves.
“What we need now is we need a plan, we need detail about the situation we are facing, Australians want to know if they are able to go away for Easter and get home again. We know 600 servos or more have not had petrol, we need a plan from the government in how we will get fuel to those servos, so Australians and can have confidence that they can go on holiday and get home again.”
—
The federal government will offer $1 billion funding to support businesses being squeezed by the cost of the war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the Economic Resilience Program at the National Press Club on Thursday, which offers interest-free loans for businesses to continue their work.
The program is part of the Albanese government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.
The government will partner with banks to get the loans flowing in the next fortnight.
—
Iran’s foreign minister says the United States and its president, Donald Trump, must change the tone of negotiations for Iran to enter into any talks to end the war.
In an interview with television broadcaster Al Jazeera, Abbas Aragchi said trust needs to be built between the nations for any credible negotiations to begin.
Aragchi also referred to the prospect of an American ground invasion, saying Iran is prepared but he hoped the Trump Administration will not make what he said would be a “mistake”.
Farsi to English “Artificial deadlines serve no purpose other than making matters more difficult—and as you have seen, such deadlines have already been extended twice. Therefore, I believe the U.S. president must change his approach. One cannot speak to the Iranian people with the language of threats or deadlines.”
—
US President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have had a “productive conversation” about the war in Iran.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt says President Trump has a great relationship with Prime Minister Modi.
She says the U-S President often speaks with Mr Modi, and trade teams from both countries continue to hold serious discussions.
The New York Times – citing two officials – reports that Elon Musk also joined the phone call.
It’s unclear why Mr Musk joined the call.
—
In a few hours time, four astronauts will be launched on a trip around the moon and back.
The launch window for NASA’s Artemis II opens around 930 this morning (9.24 Thurs AEDT).
The 10-day flight around the moon is a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface, before China’s first planned crewed lunar landing.
It will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, just one pad away from where the last moon-bound astronauts of the U-S Apollo program lifted off more than half a century ago.
Senior NASA test director Jeff Spaulding says this is just the start of a new era of moon missions.
“I think everybody understands what our mission is, and that’s to get back to the moon and we’re going to establish a presence there in the very near future. And the fact that we’ve changed direction and been able to get some additional launches that really change the calculus for a lot of people as to what we were doing and how we were going to get there and the things that we’re going to do. So I think there’s a lot of excitement and fervor within all of the groups that are out there, especially here at Kennedy. The folks that I see are very, very excited to get on with this mission and then get out and get started with the next one.”
—
To sport now, and in football…
Iraqis around the world are celebrating the end of the nation’s four-decade absence from the FIFA World Cup, after a 2-1 win over Bolivia.
The qualifying match has seen the Lions of Mesopotamia secure the 48th and final spot in the North America competition.
Former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold was the man who orchestrated the play-off victory.
He’ll now be one of two Australians coaching teams at this year’s World Cup, along with Tony Popovic for Australia.
“I’ve got to give so much thanks to the players, their work ethic. They showed the real Iraqi mentality of fighting and putting their body on the line, and that’s why we won the game.”
***
