Portfolio — 9 April 2026

The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Thistlethwaite, used two media appearances on 9 April to advance a dual-track response to Middle East instability — one track economic and immediate, the other diplomatic and longer-range — with both converging on the cost-of-living pressures that conflict-driven fuel disruption is imposing on Australian households.

On the economic track, Mr Thistlethwaite announced that Export Finance Australia has finalised an underwriting scheme to stabilise fuel imports by removing spot-price volatility that has deterred importers from entering contracts [TA-260409-dfat-31ee888c0d2e]. The scheme was proposed by industry, passed Parliament last week, and allows private importers to act immediately with government backing.

With current fuel stocks at approximately 30 days' supply, around 50 shipments are expected over the next five weeks. Alongside the underwriting mechanism, Mr Thistlethwaite confirmed active diversification of supplier sources beyond the traditional Singapore-led Southeast Asian base to include the United States, Japan, Korea, and China — a structural hedge against renewed disruption in any single supply corridor.

On the diplomatic track, Mr Thistlethwaite welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but explicitly called for Lebanon's inclusion in any regional ceasefire, framing a Lebanon-inclusive settlement as the only route to permanence rather than a temporary suspension [TA-260409-dfat-426e8766dab8]. He reaffirmed Australia's position that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be upheld under international law of the sea, and rejected any toll or privatisation arrangement inconsistent with that principle.

On Australian military assets in the region, Mr Thistlethwaite confirmed that the Wedgetail aircraft and medium-range missile deployment will remain for as long as the safety of approximately 115,000 Australians in the region requires them, with no fixed withdrawal timeline stated.

The most notable political dimension of the media releases is Mr Thistlethwaite's explicit counter to the Opposition's preference for the US-Israel negotiating position. He argued that a Lebanon-inclusive regional ceasefire — not the narrower bilateral framework the Opposition favours — offers both the fastest path to a durable peace and, consequently, the fastest relief from elevated fuel and grocery prices affecting Australian consumers [TA-260409-dfat-426e8766dab8].

This framing links a contested foreign-policy position directly to household cost pressures, making the diplomatic argument legible as an economic argument. The fuel-security response was presented as extending beyond the immediate five-week window, with Mr Thistlethwaite signalling continued planning for a post-May environment on the assumption that economic disruption from the conflict will outlast the conflict itself.