It seems at the moment that the wheels of the Royal Australian Air Force jet are barely cool after touching down before they’re spinning again.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s four-day mercy dash to Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia this week isn’t just another entry in a crowded diplomatic diary.
It is a frantic, necessary scramble to plug the holes in Australia’s increasingly brittle supply chains as the conflict in the Middle East threatens to turn our local supermarket aisles into a battlefield of price hikes.
The optics are clear. This is a government in damage-control mode.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively a no-go zone, the 30 per cent of global fertiliser supply usually flowing through those waters has vanished.
We rely on the Middle East for 60 per cent of our urea and the food security timebomb isn’t just rhetoric — it’s a ticking clock for our farmers.
In Bandar Seri Begawan, the PM is hunting for more than just an audience with the Sultan.
He is chasing the 11 per cent of fertilizer-grade urea and 9 per cent of our diesel that it already provides.
In Kuala Lumpur, the stakes are even higher. Malaysia is our third-largest source of refined fuel.
Combined, these two nations represent a significant part of our urea lifeline.
With Foreign Minister Penny Wong in tow to smooth the diplomatic gears, the mission is clear.
Secure the flow of energy and essential goods to shield Australians from a war half a world away.
Here in the West, the urgency is felt acutely.
Between the ill-timed power outage at the Yara plant in the Pilbara and the fact that the $6.5 billion Perdaman plant is still a long way from production, we are vulnerable.
WAFarmers is right to be nervous.
The season waits for no one, and “comprehensive partnerships” don’t fertilize crops and get food from paddock to plate.
The PM says he is taking “every practical action” to protect the economy.
But Australians are weary of “discussions” and “strategic partnerships.”
As the Minister for Agriculture admits, the conflict is unpredictable and the impact on our hip pockets is the most uncertain it has been in a generation.
Albanese has a lot riding on this trip.
Petrol and diesel prices have stabilised in the past few days but the cost is still far too high for already struggling families and small businesses to bare.
Something needs to give.
The PM cannot return from his latest trip with mere platitudes about “constructive and positive discussions” or rhetoric of “shared challenges”.
That outcome could be achieved by a Zoom video call from the kitchen table at The Lodge.
He needs to return with iron-clad guarantees that the diesel will keep flowing and the fertilizer will arrive before the planting window slams shut.
If he fails, the “mercy” in this dash will be for his government come the next cost-of-living index.
