LIVE UPDATES: Jim Chalmers warns ‘confronting’ inflation as Iran war sends fuel prices soaring for Australia

Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has revealed she has a personal relationship with five-year-old Sharon Granites, the five-year-old who investigators believe was abducted in the Northern Territory.

Speaking to Sky News host Sharri Markson on Wednesday night, Senator Price revealed that she was “an aunt” to the missing five-year-old, who is suspected to have been led away from the Old Timers Camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs by Jefferson Lewis, 47.

It is understood Mr Lewis also lived at the camp and had recently returned home from a stint in prison.

“She’s part of my extended family. I’m an aunt to her, and I just know the family are absolutely beside themselves,” Senator Price said.

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The anti-Semitism royal commission’s interim report contains 14 recommendations, according to its website.

However, it is yet to be published.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will explain the government’s response to these recommendations at 10.30am Sydney time.

The report will be released once it had been formally tabled in Parliament, which is expected to happen today.

The US Secretary of War has told Congress that allies like Australia appreciate the need to increase their defence budgets but has echoed US President Donald Trump’s comments that the AUKUS partnership is “full steam ahead”.

Appearing before the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Pete Hegseth said it was “vitally important for America’s allies and partners to step up and do their part for our collective defence”.

He said the War Department was “prioritizing increased burden-sharing in the Indo-Pacific,” noting South Korea was a “model ally” by committing to increased defence spending.

“Australia likewise understands the need to increase defence spending and Canberra has taken another step with the release of its latest National Defence Strategy,” he said.

“We look forward to building on that progress with our Australian allies to be able to do more in the Alliance together, move full steam ahead on AUKUS and build capability to promote meaningful deterrence, just as we look forward to working closely with others in the region to strengthen partners’ self-defence capabilities, bolster interoperability with American forces, and expand access, basing, and overflight arrangements.”

Virginia Bell has handed the interim report from the anti-Semitism royal commission that she leads to Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

This first piece of work – a slim volume – covers the intelligence and national security agencies and what they knew or missed in the lead up to December’s deadly Bondi terror attack.

“This is a very important matter that you have reported on,” Ms Mostyn told the former High Court judge on Thursday.

The examination of agencies was originally commissioned as a standalone piece of work from former top security bureaucrat Dennis Richardson, but was rolled into the royal commission when it was established.

Mr Richardson quit in mid-March, saying he didn’t find his full expertise was necessary to the new format of the work.

The interim report is expected to be released publicly later on Thursday.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Tim Wilson has blamed government spending for Australia’s rising inflation, arguing it is a more significant driver than global conflict in the Middle East.

His comments come after inflation hit 4.6 per cent in March, with Mr Wilson acknowledging the war in Iran had played a role in the latest increase. However, he said price pressures had already been building well before the conflict began in late February.

Mr Wilson said the upward trend in inflation has been driven largely by domestic fiscal policy, reviving a line of criticism previously rejected by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the Albanese Government during earlier rate hikes by the Reserve Bank.

“If you don’t provide inflation offsets, you give with one hand and you take later with the other, and that’s what the federal government is doing right now,” Mr Wilson told ABC Radio National.

He also took aim at proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount expected to be outlined in the upcoming federal budget, questioning whether they would support stronger economic growth or opportunity.

The Albanese Government has signalled the potential reforms as part of a broader effort to address housing pressures and reshape the tax system, framing the changes as a response to “intergenerational” inequality.

But Mr Wilson argued the government was failing younger Australians by not focusing on long-term economic opportunity.

“What the Prime Minister isn’t doing is giving the next generation of Australians hope about building a better future for self-starters who want to get ahead and creating an economic environment of opportunity,” Mr Wilson said.

Jim Chalmers has conceded the latest inflation figures are “confronting,” blaming the spike on surging fuel and oil prices driven by the war in the Middle East.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, he said Australians were feeling the impact after inflation rose to 4.6 per cent in March, up from 3.7 per cent, with energy and housing among the biggest contributors.

“First of all, we need to recognise that those inflation figures were confronting yesterday,” Dr Chalmers said.

“They show that Australians are paying a hefty price for this war in the Middle East and we expect the costs and consequences of that conflict on the other side of the world to persist for a while longer yet. So we’re upfront with people about that.”

He said fuel costs were the primary driver behind the increase, pointing to global oil prices nearing $120 a barrel, and flagged the upcoming May 14 budget would focus on tackling the “inflation challenge” alongside broader economic resilience.

Jim Chalmers says Australians “understand” the latest inflation spike has been driven largely by the war in the Middle East, pushing back on criticism of earlier rate rises.

Speaking on the Today Show, he defended the government’s economic management after inflation jumped to 4.6 per cent in March, up from 3.7 per cent.

“Certainly Australians are under pressure, and we’ve acknowledged before that some of these inflationary pressures were hanging around before the war in the Middle East,” Dr Chalmers said.

“But I think any objective observer, of particularly the month of March in that data yesterday, understands that overwhelmingly this was a story about fuel prices. I think people understand that there are broader pressures in our economy.”

Oil prices surged after Donald Trump signalled the US could resume military action against Iran and indicated the naval blockade would remain in place until a nuclear deal is reached, according to the The Wall Street Journal.

Mr Trump told Axios the pressure campaign would continue as markets reacted to the prospect of prolonged disruption.

“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!,” Mr Trump posted on social media, alongside an image bearing the slogan “No More Mr. Nice Guy”.

Brent crude jumped to its highest level of the conflict, with front-month prices climbing to $US119.76 a barrel, the strongest intraday level since the volatility following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

China has agreed to restart jet fuel exports to Australia, signalling a shift after weeks of tightened supply.

Speaking from Beijing, Penny Wong said the move marked a “first step” toward resuming shipments to Australian companies following talks with her Chinese counterpart.

“I can confirm that the Chinese government is facilitating engagement with Australian businesses on jet fuel,” Wong said overnight.

Exports had been sharply curtailed earlier in the year as Beijing moved to shore up domestic fuel reserves in response to the Iran war, disrupting supply to key markets, including Australia.

US President Donald Trump says he has discussed a possible ceasefire in the four-year war in Ukraine in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He spoke after the Kremlin reported the two leaders discussed a temporary Ukraine ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II next month.

“We had a good talk, I’ve known him a long time,” Mr Trump said.

The two leaders had their last publicly reported phone call on March 9.

Mr Trump, speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, said he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine in his phone call with the Russian leader.

“And I think he might do that,” Mr Trump said, then asked reporters whether Mr Putin had already announced a ceasefire.