A fire at a Geelong oil refinery - one of two refineries left in Australia - has heightened anxiety around fuel supply.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen joins the Inside Politics podcast today to address the impact of this fire and the scramble for petrol and diesel imports as the nation grapples with one of the most severe oil shocks in history.

The pugilistic minister, a lighting rod in the debate about Australia's renewable energy transition, joins chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and energy correspondent Mike Foley to discuss the rocky path to a green economy, and Australia's position to deal with the war and subsequent energy crisis.

You can read Sakkal and Foley's story on our websites here, and all our federal political coverage here.

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The new leader of the Nationals, Matt Canavan, is a former Marxist from the suburbs who was once a Productivity Commission economist and then, a firebrand right-wing senator.

Canavan joins Inside Politics today with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal at a time when the Nationals are battling for survival against an ascendant One Nation.

The pair discuss Australia's over-reliance on the US, Canavan's dislike of identity politics, his surprising love of electric vehicles and, to cap it off, religion.

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This week we debate the merits of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s national address before getting stuck into what’s happening with the budget. With the world in a bit of a shambles, we found it interesting that the PM hasn’t totally killed off the idea of reforms in the budget to things such as capital gains tax and negative gearing.

But, as our guest and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright says, this is the most difficult budget to piece together since the response to the global financial crisis in 2008.

Finally, host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal talk about a fascinating interview Andrew Hastie gave recently.

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This week, while we were all freaking out about the oil crisis – and rightly so – European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited to finalise a trade deal between Australia and the EU. Negotiations for this have been on and off for eight years, so it was not a moment too soon that we signed it.

But, as Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal discuss, this wasn't just about delicious foodstuffs from Europe, and indeed, Europeans getting access to our delicious foodstuffs; it was also about shoring up our strategic security in a very uncertain time.

And, we also talk about One Nation's election unexpected result in South Australia.

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This week we’re talking about the enormous global volatility the government is dealing with, courtesy of the US-Israel war on Iran, and whether we need to be worried about things like our fuel supplies.

Also, with this global instability and an interest rate rise this week, will Treasurer Jim Chalmers water down his budget ambitions, or press on with major changes to intergenerational equity and tax?

The Inside Politics team of Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal also find time to touch on the electorate of Farrer, which is shaping up to hold one of the more interesting byelections.

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This week, we talk about the incredible story of the Iranian women's soccer team, some of whom defected and were given asylum in Australia. It was a wonderful story, and a great public relations coup for the government.

Plus, the legacy of outgoing Nationals leader David Littleproud, and we examine the somewhat controversial style of the incoming leader Matt Canavan.

Joining host Jacquline Maley is chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and national security correspondent Matthew Knott.

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Israel and the United States are at war with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict that Australia seems to be trying to avoid as much as possible. Today, we'll talk about how viable it is to be neutral these days, and whether Australia is doing its duty as a middle power.

We'll also discuss the Liberal Party review that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and others tried to keep it secret, only to have it leaked by none other than the prime minister himself this week.

Joining Jacqueline Maley today is foreign affairs correspondent Matthew Knott and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.

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In this bonus episode of Inside Politics, we’re joined by the Nationals leader David Littleproud.
He’s a man under pressure – commentators, Liberal MPs and some of his own colleagues blamed January’s split on the 49-year-old from Chinchilla in regional Queensland.
Today, chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Littleproud discuss the Coalition rupture and what’s next under the leadership of Angus Taylor.

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