The middle of April each year is always when the pre-Budget noise grows louder, and the Government begins to frame the narrative. This year, the stakes are as high as any budget in recent memory. The United States’ and Israel’s attacks on Iran, and the subsequent closing of the Strait of Hormuz, have very much highlighted to Australians just who benefits from an international oil crisis. While Australians saw their petrol prices rise, and worries about a recession permeated, one industry was laughing.

One of the world’s most vulnerable nations to climate change has urged Australia to reassess its reliance on fossil fuels and impose a 25 per cent tax on gas exports. Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change Adaptation, Ralph Regenvanu, told SBS that Australia should be using the global energy crisis as a catalyst to ramp up its shift to clean energy.

In March, the Albanese Government pulled their “friendless” crackdown on freedom of information (FOI) rights. While it is comforting that things will not get even worse, change is needed to address the culture of secrecy and denial that successive governments have allowed to fester in the public service.

When asked about his legacy, Anthony Albanese has always been clear about what he wants to be remembered for: universal childcare. It’s a headline vision he shares with a prominent politician on the other side of the planet: New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. But while both politicians have stated that universal childcare is their ambition, there’s a big difference between them when it comes to the details.

It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.