Anthony Albanese says impact from Middle East conflict will have ‘long tail’, confirms national cabinet meeting after peace talks fallout

Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will convene national cabinet amid ongoing issues surrounding the Middle East conflict, saying people want to see “an end” to the conflict.

The Prime Minister was part of a conference with 49 world leaders last week, discussing ways to de-escalate the conflict and re-open the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israel-led blockade.

Mr Albanese is due to participate in another meeting in London later this week.

Speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 Report on Monday night, Mr Albanese told host Sarah Ferguson he – and the world – wanted to see a resolution to the conflict.

“No country is immune from this conflict … it is having a massive impact on the global economy. It’s having a human impact on people in the region.”

The Prime Minister said he wanted to see a return to normal economic activity without tolls, privatisation and freedom of movement.

“That’s essential for the way our global economy operates,” he said.

Mr Albanese reiterated his desire to see a “de-escalation” of the conflict, echoing previous comments he made regarding the US stating it had achieved it’s “aims and objectives” regarding the conflict.

“This will have a long tail, this impact,” Mr Albanese said.

He confirmed he would be reconvening national cabinet, claiming it was “not to make any change” to the country’s levels, but to inform them “where we’re at” and ensuring the nation could move forward together.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers earlier said there was a prevailing sense of “frustration” among international colleagues over the US and Israel’s war on Iran, as global markets weather extreme volatility following the collapse of a two-week ceasefire between the countries, and the subsequent re-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Mr Chalmers pointed to the ceasefire agreement as a “welcome development” but lamented the fact that the talks ultimately fell through.

“We had some very welcome progress and very welcome developments only a few days ago. but obviously we’ve seen some of that progress unwound, potentially quite significantly,” he said on Monday during a press conference. “It does feel like, two steps forward and one step back when it comes to these developments.”

Mr Chalmers had last week visited Washington where he met with global finance ministers and attended the International Monetary Fund’s annual spring meeting.

“If there’s one prevailing vibe that comes from the international colleagues, it’s really, I think, a sense of frustration about how long this war in the Middle East has been playing out and what that means for the global economy and for everyone’s domestic economies as well,” he said, pointing to his discussions with his international counterparts.

His comments on come hours after Mr Trump said the US was “going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” in a post on social media platform Truth Social.

“They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honour to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other presidents, for the last 47 years,” the US leader wrote.

The threat comes as both the US and Iran have accused each other of violating a fragile two-week ceasefire. Australia has repeatedly backed calls for an end to the conflict and urged the warring parties to ramp up diplomatic negotiations to achieve the same.

Joyce’s war warning for Aus

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce earlier claimed questions around his faith in US President Donald Trump didn’t “really matter” and instead Australia must “deal with the cards that have been dealt” to it.

The New England MP told Seven’s Sunrise that all Australians “hoped and prayed” the conflict would come to an end as soon as possible.

But he also refused to make an assessment of Mr Trump’s actions after negotiations with Iran fell through.

Asked if he had faith in the US leader, Mr Joyce said: “Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

“We’ve got to deal with the cards that have been dealt with us,” he said.

“It does show the world in a febrile nature, and we’re living in a different world now.

“And it shows that, as we’ve always known, there’s no such thing as a short war. They just go on, and this one’s going on.” But a major lesson for Australia was to “prepare ourselves better in the future”, he said.

“We were not prepared for this. And if something like this happens again … we have got to be vastly better prepared than we were this time, because this is in some areas is a train wreck, economically.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek earlier told the same broadcaster Australia wanted to see peace “as soon as possible”, conceding the global uncertainty did not “benefit anyone”.

“And we’ve seen real impacts on civilians in Iran and around the Middle East, which, of course, we’re concerned about,” she said.

“And although Australia is not formally a party to this conflict, Australians are paying a very heavy price for it. “You certainly see the price at the petrol station, but you also see it flowing through to goods and services across the economy … We want to see de-escalation, and we want to see the situation resolved.”

Australia was not consulted or informed by the US and Israel ahead of their strikes on Iran on February 28. But Australia was the first country to express qualified support for US actions, supporting the goal of degrading Tehran’s nuclear capability.

Anthony Albanese has since called for clarity on Mr Trump’s objectives.