What did I miss? Australia’s political week in fast-forward

There's no escaping Labor's kinder economy. And you will love it! [Depositphotos.com/@olly18]

The most important issue this week was Labor’s desperate ‘don’t panic!’ messaging.

Government officials claimed the problem was not a low fuel supply, but high demand. Australia has a jerry can apocalypse. There is a surge of ‘farm thieves’ cutting locks and raiding rural properties. Tractors are being drained and parked cars siphoned like it’s season three of The Walking Dead.

The price of fuel is about to hit $3 per litre, interest rates have tagged along, and the cost of living has soared. But don’t worry, Chalmers has a ‘bold Budget’ planned. Who’s excited for tax reform…?!

My weekly wrap-up of Australian politics in The Spectator Australia,What did I miss? Australia’s political week in fast-forward.

"Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ kinder economy has revealed itself to be kinder chiefly to those who do not drive, eat, or pay bills." 😠

Labor is carefully orchestrating the end of capitalism in Australia. Albo is on the train, and the rest of the socialist circus is awaiting his… pic.twitter.com/XRsvm4yCkm

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 21, 2026

What does Australia expect to gain by snubbing Trump?

Ignoring President Trump’s plea dishonours every Digger who fought beside Americans.

The Strait of Hormuz is the artery carrying one-fifth of the world’s oil. President Trump’s call for allied warships to protect it from Iranian threats was a test of resolve. Australia’s response was lazy and irresponsible. Refusing to send even a single vessel was to turn our back on the United States. Not just any ally, but the nation that has bled for us and with us, time and again.

In France, on the islands of the Pacific, in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan – even in Darwin – American blood has soaked the same battlefields as ours. Anzus rests on that shared sacrifice. Aukus, our most significant defence enabler in history, is the generational result of it.

Ignoring President Trump’s plea dishonours every Digger who fought beside Americans and signals to the world that Australia cannot be counted on when it matters. We’ve never been here before.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, What does Australia expect to gain by snubbing Trump?

The Strait of Hormuz is the artery carrying one-fifth of the world’s oil.

President Trump’s call for allied warships to protect it from Iranian threats was a test of resolve.

Australia’s response was lazy and irresponsible.

Refusing to send even a single vessel was to turn our… pic.twitter.com/fMHoZYVebL

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 19, 2026

Is Labor deliberately ruining us?

A crisis of Labor’s own making. Teach children self-reliance instead of entitlement.

From Myeongdong, Seoul: Across the road from me is the original Bank of Korea building, the nation’s central bank. It is now the Bank of Korea Money Museum. It has a computer that demonstrates the impact of economic events. If government spending increases, inflation increases. If employment increases, then inflation increases, and so on.

Surely Jim Chalmers knows all of this. If the government spends more on government jobs and puts the rest of the country on welfare, then you don’t need one of these computers anymore. Capitalism is gone and you are living in a socialist economy. You know, that repulsive economic system that never works?

Like many Australians, the RBA’s interest rate increase this week has me worried. We have the most socialist of Labor governments in charge, and an ineffectual opposition. The leadership changes in the Coalition haven’t eased the pain.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Is Labor deliberately ruining us?

Let’s stop pretending this is mere incompetence or bad luck.

It is my opinion that Labor has engineered our decline deliberately, not to govern but to dismantle the liberal democratic system that built the luckiest country on Earth.

Every major policy choice since 2022 has… pic.twitter.com/TClEkM1w19

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) March 18, 2026