President Donald Trump demanded that Volodymyr Zelensky halt attacks on Russian oil refineries and suggested Zelensky consider stepping aside. He also linked Ukraine to US diesel prices while discussing fuel supplies for farmers, ranchers and truckers.
Diesel and the Midterm Vote
The Australian Financial Review's latest-stories page reported that Trump blamed Ukraine for US diesel prices and claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release diesel into the global market. The report connected the proposed releases to farmers, ranchers and truckers, describing them as key voting blocs in the November 3 midterm elections.
Trump said the diesel releases would help lower prices for those groups. The report gave no price figure, diesel volume or further details about the proposed release. It also didn't identify companies expected to supply or sell the fuel.
Trump's demand addressed Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries. He also suggested Zelensky should consider stepping aside. The account placed those demands alongside Trump's claim about diesel prices and Putin's purported agreement to release fuel, but provided no further details about negotiations or implementation.
Immigration Policy and Labor Supply
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor declined calls to publicly release the budget analysis behind the Coalition's immigration policy. He suggested Labor hadn't released costings for many of its policies. During an interview on ABC's Insiders program, Taylor accused host Davis Speers of showing viewers "incomplete analysis" and called him "a great interrupter."
Taylor argued that the Coalition policy wouldn't add to inflation or interest rates because it would cut the number of low-skilled workers and increase the number of high-skilled workers. He described the change as an increase in the economy's supply side.
"If that person's low skill, you're bringing more demand than supply. If they're highly skilled, you're bringing the opposite. You're actually bringing more supply, and that puts downward pressure on prices," Taylor said. His explanation framed immigration by workers' skill level and their claimed effect on supply and prices. The report didn't provide the budget analysis Taylor was asked to release or figures for the proposed changes in worker numbers.
The report also didn't include statements from workers affected by the policy or from unions. It gave Taylor's argument and his comparison with Labor's policy costings, but didn't offer a separate assessment of the proposal's effects on workers or wages.
Energy Policy and Coalition Politics
The Guardian's Australian politics page carried a headline reporting that Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said Australia does not "need or want Russian fuel" after a Trump deal to buy diesel from Putin. The page supplied no further details of Bowen's comments or the deal. It therefore included Bowen's stated position, but no information about the proposed purchase's terms, price or volume.
The same page listed a report saying Pauline Hanson criticised Angus Taylor at a CPAC event, where she offered to work with the Coalition to defeat Labor. The listing described Taylor as heckled at the event. It gave no further details about the criticism, the heckling or any agreement between Hanson and the Coalition.