Anthony Albanese sulked, cap in hand, to Singapore. Fossil fuel is better for the environment if someone else drills for it – or so goes the logic of the Labor Party which has been forced to walk its Renewable Empire election promise parallel to the most pro-carbon trade trip this century.

Somewhere in the moral confusion, Albanese condemned Donald Trump’s fierce language against the terrorists holding the Strait of Hormuz hostage as ‘not appropriate’.

Speaking of Defence, Albo’s grand revision of the Australian Defence Force has come under global scrutiny in the lead up to Anzac Day with Australia’s most decorated soldier and Victoria Cross winner, Ben Roberts-Smith, being arrested in front of the media at Sydney Airport.

Senator Paterson, like many Australians, side-eyed the public nature of the arrest saying there were ‘operational questions which must be answered by the Federal Police and the OSI’. Paterson added, ‘I don’t know what their considerations were, why they chose to arrest him at that time and that place, and it’s up to them to explain why it was operationally necessary to do so.’

A powerful message from a Kennedy constituent to Bob Katter:

"Bob,
Give my Medals back to Canberra.
I no longer want them after seeing the way they treat Veterans."

Returning his honours in protest. Veterans deserve better. ??? pic.twitter.com/PW3FA1wISz

— katy ? (@KatyKray73) April 8, 2026

Nothing says ‘Lest We Forget’ quite like ensuring the nation doesn’t get the wrong idea about rusty bayonets, improvised explosive devices, and suicide bombers. Dialogue and diplomacy first, preferably delivered by someone who’s never worn our country’s uniform or heard a shot fired in anger.

If Labor isn’t careful, Australia will end up with battle-hardened diggers replaced with upstanding journalists, lawyers, judges, and social workers. Rumour has it, the whole ADF is to be rebranded as the Kindness is Good Brigade (KGB) while follow-up plans might do a bit of hasty sanitising of the Victoria Cross into the Distinguished Compassion Medal. Defence will become the circle of peace where there are no winners, no losers, just plenty of hugs and de-escalating dialogue.

The first task of Richard Marles, now the Minister for Kindness, will be to politely tweet at Kim Jong-Un and ask him to keep his mostly peaceful missiles away from Japan.

[Emergency alert]
North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow.

— PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) April 8, 2026

Pakistan has become the Centre for Peace Talks between Iran, Israel, and the US. VP JD Vance effectively came out and declared there was no trust, no plan, and no peace.

And oops! Israel breached the ceasefire with Lebanon. Hang on, Lebanon wasn’t part of the ceasefire. Was it? No one is really quite sure anymore.

Meanwhile, Chalmers’ May Budget is set to go nuclear. Not with the abundant source of energy, but with Labor promising its ‘most ambitious Budget yet’ to tackle cost-of-living pressures and global uncertainty. The Treasurer is set to make bigger promises and use government savings from the recent good times to smooth out the current and temporary bad times. It’s a good thing government debt is only at one trillion dollars, or we’d really be in it deep right now. They even found $20 million in loose change to run an ad campaign telling people to use less fuel. Genius.

Meanwhile, One Nation’s strength is growing. Pauline Hanson’s mob is polling strongly as voters desert the majors. The Greens’ Max Chandler-Mather reckons ‘progressive populism’ is the answer.

According to the Guardian:

He said progressive economic populism and undoing key pillars of neoliberalism should be major priorities, including exposing the role of Labor in creating outdated systems in Australia.

Good luck with that, comrades.

NDIS spending continues to veer ‘out of control’. The Coalition reckons the scheme is sending cash to the wrong people and the books are a mess. Labor agrees and is reviewing NDIS providers. An ecosystem of small businesses are suspected of cashing in. The answer? Apparently, we should only allow big organisations to provide NDIS services. Staff will no longer be ripped off by their employers, with unionised NDIS providers focused on keeping costs down… Maybe.

Labor, fresh from (attempting to) ban kids from accessing social media, have extended their censorial tendrils into the gambling industry by cracking down on gambling ads. Labor’s plan to restrict ads will slash wagering spending by a whopping 0.8 per cent. A total ban would have been better, says the Prime Minister’s own analysis. But he’s having a bet each way.

You have to feel a tad sorry for Energy Minister Chris Bowen. He had a tough week of bruising press conferences. Never mind, his leadership is unequivocal. That bold renewables target? Totally achievable, even if he doesn’t like mentioning it except under the duress of a hostile journalist. Bowen is probably checking his tyres on the way to another renewables announcement as we speak, making sure his EV fleet is topped up from the nearest solar panel before lecturing the rest of us about the urgency to transition away from reliable power.

Australians can thank the lucky stars for Nationals Leader Matt Canavan. Over recent days, he has set out on a journey to bring back patriots to the Coalition fold. In his address to the National Press Club, Canavan escalated his attack on ‘Net Zero’ policies, arguing that the Coalition can win the next federal election by highlighting the costs and ‘absurdities’ of the energy transition. This will allow the Liberals to benefit as a sort of opposition by issuing contradictory slogans to the Teal seats in the hope of being the Green Cop to Canavan’s Coal Cop.

And in a sign of the times, SPC sales of baked beans are going through the roof as families stock up for the fuel shortages. Bureaucrats were already counting the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions because the servos are out of fuel and everyone’s staying home. Regrettably, the preferred fuel shortage menu is proving counterproductive.

And finally to Question Time highlights. The Uniparty remain focused on asking each other how to deal with the rise of One Nation. Dialogue and diplomacy are now part of the People’s House in an effort to return Australia to the political centre. Word is, another flag is about to be unfurled inside Parliament … the unifying white flag of surrender with the WEF logo in the middle.

To keep up to date with the latest in public philosophy, be sure to follow the World Economic Forum and the United Nations on social media. If you’re over 16. As Albanese said last week, subscriptions shouldn’t be a trap.

What did you miss? Not much, because the nation doesn’t have enough fuel to get anywhere.