Portfolio — 3 April 2026

The Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Mr Patrick Gorman, addressed three distinct policy fronts on 3 April 2026: Australia's posture on the Iran-Israel conflict and its downstream fuel supply consequences, coordinated Commonwealth-state relief for motorists, and the government's contested gambling advertising reforms.

On the conflict, Mr Gorman drew a firm line on non-involvement: Australia has not been consulted by the United States and Israel on early-stage decisions, is not a party to the conflict, and will not pursue military options in the Strait of Hormuz [TA-260403-pmc-4a184e8ec8ab]. He framed Australia's role as one of monitoring and support — working through conversations convened by the United Kingdom rather than taking independent military initiative — and explicitly noted that President Trump has indicated Hormuz security is not a US responsibility [TA-260403-pmc-4a184e8ec8ab].

The Prime Minister's national address was characterised as frank communication about a difficult period ahead, with the government coupling that messaging to concrete domestic relief including fuel tax cuts and guidance on reducing personal fuel consumption.

The domestic fuel-security response drew on both Commonwealth and state-level levers. Mr Gorman defended Western Australia Premier Roger Cook's State of Emergency declaration as appropriate application of 50-year-old legislation to move fuel to farming and primary industry regions across a state covering one-third of Australia's land mass [TA-260403-pmc-4a184e8ec8ab].

At National Cabinet this week, all states agreed to forgo windfall GST gains on fuel and return that revenue to motorists; combined with the Commonwealth fuel excise relief, the government says the saving reaches $20.80 per 65-litre tank fill. The Hormuz disruption thus runs directly through both the foreign-policy and domestic fiscal tracks of this media release, with the Assistant Minister's role spanning the coordination story across both.

The third front — gambling advertising reform — generated the sharpest political contest in the release. The government announced a package aimed at breaking the link between wagering and sport, reducing children's exposure to gambling advertising, restricting wagering branding on sports jerseys, and expanding financial counselling [TA-260403-pmc-4a184e8ec8ab].

Critics were pointed: the Greens and the Independent Member for Curtin argued that partial bans do not work, that children will still see advertisements, and that the package omits a national independent gambling regulator as recommended by the Murphy Review [TA-260403-pmc-4a184e8ec8ab]. Mr Gorman defended the reforms as a significant package that will make a difference, rejecting the framing that they weaken the original plan, and positioned parliamentary inquiry reports — including the Murphy Review — as inputs into government decision-making rather than binding directives.

The government's approach implicitly accepts a narrower reform footprint than the Murphy Review recommended, and the absence of a national regulator is the specific gap crossbench and Greens critics have chosen to contest publicly.