SARAH ABO, HOST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will embark on his second fuel security mission within a week, as Iran–US peace talks collapse.
KARL STEFANOVIC, HOST: And the PM joins us now live from Canberra. PM, good morning to you. Look, first up, the news overnight –
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Good to be with you.
STEFANOVIC: Do you support the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz?
PRIME MINISTER: What we want to see is negotiations continue and resume. We want to see an end to this conflict. We want to see the Strait of Hormuz opened for all. We want to see freedom of navigation as required by international law as well.
ABO: Last time I checked, PM, you weren't exactly the Trump whisperer. Not sure that anyone is. We don't quite know what his decision is going to lead to, right. But has he been in touch with the administration in any way just to ask us to join any possible blockade?
PRIME MINISTER: We've received no requests, and they've made this announcement overnight and they've done that in a unilateral way. And we haven't been asked to participate. We've received no requests that we haven't agreed to. The request we've received was for support for Gulf countries, particularly the UAE, and that's why we sent our Wedgetail aircraft. That's been doing amazing work. We have extended the period in which they'll be in the Middle East for another four weeks. And they've provided important defensive capacity for people who aren't participants in this conflict but have been victims of it, of course, those Gulf countries.
STEFANOVIC: Just to clarify, if asked, will we provide help with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we haven't been asked, Karl, and I don't expect that we will be –
ABO: Do we have the capacity to?
PRIME MINISTER: This is the US making this decision that they have. What we want is for negotiations to resume. We want to see an end to the loss of life and, and the loss of infrastructure, civil, in the Middle East. And we want to see trade resume. This is having a massive global economic impact, not just on Australia. Every single country is being impacted. For weeks now, countries like the Philippines and Sri Lanka have actually gone to a four day week and are having a public holiday once a week because they don't have enough fuel. And this is having a massive impact on global inflation. And we want to see it come to a conclusion. We want to see sensible solutions going forward because of the impact that it's having.
STEFANOVIC: Right. So, you see what's happening in Asia, you've just come out of there. So, what's in the deal with Singapore?
PRIME MINISTER: Singapore is a very good deal. It's a reaffirmation of us as friends. One of the –
STEFANOVIC: Hang on –
PRIME MINISTER: Things that have been really positive –
STEFANOVIC: It's got to be more than reaffirmation, I would have thought.
ABO: So, there's no deal?
PRIME MINISTER: No, there absolutely is a deal of secure supply. And Prime Minister Wong said that very clearly standing next to me that they won't be imposing export controls. That is happening in some places in Asia. And Australia and Singapore remain priority partners. So, the agreement that we reached last week was very positive. And interestingly, Singapore, because it is an oil hub, has been in a position to be able to replace the fuel that was meant to come from the Gulf, from Africa and from the Americas. And that's why they're very confident going forward and have continued to provide supply. They supply about 25 per cent of our refined products, and that's important. We provide about 32 per cent of their LNG as well. That's so important for their economy. So, this is a win–win. It was a very positive meeting that I had with Prime Minister Wong and I look forward to the meetings that I'll have with the Sultan of Brunei and with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, in the next couple of days.
STEFANOVIC: So, how many more boats have you secured to come our way then through, let's just pick April?
PRIME MINISTER: Through April, for example, there were six ships that were due to come of the 81, which is the average that come to Australia, that were cancelled. We've replaced those six with nine. And we're doing further work to ensure more supply as well, with the agreements that we have with the refineries in Geelong and in Brisbane, through the work of Export Finance Australia. What they're doing essentially is underwriting the purchase, if you like, of those shiploads of fuel to come to Australia. Those agreements have enabled them to go out into the international marketplace and to be a part of what's going on, which is bidding on the spot market, if you like, for additional fuel that becomes available.
STEFANOVIC: But PM, what I'm trying to get at is there are no guarantees beyond that. At any point, Singapore can say, you know what, we're going to hold this for our own country. There are no guarantees.
PRIME MINISTER: No, Singapore was very clear, Karl, very clear, that they will be a reliable supplier of fuel for us. That's not to say there aren't international challenges. There are, Karl. Every morning, you, like me, probably wake up and have a look at what's been sent on social media overnight. That has an impact here. We're not immune from it. This is a global system that applies and that is why it is having an impact here like it is right around the world.
STEFANOVIC: Alright, we've got to run and so do you. Appreciate your time. Thanks, PM.