Bowen warns escalating Middle East conflict will push up Australian fuel prices

Australia's energy minister, Chris Bowen, said on Saturday that the deteriorating situation in the Middle East will inevitably affect fuel prices in Australia. He pointed to the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces, along with the ongoing war involving Iran, as factors pushing up global oil prices, a trend already visible in overnight markets.

On Friday, Saudi authorities reported that drones launched from Iraq had temporarily shut down a key oil export route used to bypass the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, aid workers said nearly 50,000 people have fled a sudden Houthi advance in western Yemen, with entire villages emptied and families trapped near frontline fighting as food supplies dwindle.

Despite the pressures, Bowen sought to reassure the public, noting Australia holds 41 days' worth of petrol and 42 days' worth of diesel in strategic reserve. He said the government would remain focused on fuel security, as it has for more than six months since the crisis began.

Other developments

Communications minister Anika Wells defended the government's proposed digital duty of care bill, which would let Australians opt out of algorithmically recommended social media content. The Coalition has labelled the plan censorship, but Wells argued it is aimed at protecting children from psychosocial harms, including AI chatbots giving dangerous advice and grooming occurring on gaming platforms such as Roblox.

Elsewhere, two men were restrained aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha following a physical altercation, with reports the men made threats including claiming to have a gun; both were handed to local authorities on landing. In Western Australia, police are searching for two men following a shooting in Perth's Hamilton Hill, in which a man was seriously injured.