<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>ANALYSIS:</span></strong><span> After hours of build-up and speculation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's rare prime-time address to the nation landed with more of a shrug than a shockwave. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In about 500 words and just over three minutes, he laid out the government's existing attempts to combat the fuel crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East and sought to reassure Australians that all would be well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You should go about your business and your life as normal," was one of the key takeaways, along with gentle urging to conserve fuel.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-albanese-address-to-the-nation-what-to-expect-how-to-watch-everything-to-know/ef0c15f6-2cdd-48a3-b4fb-63ce1b8c05c4" rel="" target="" title="Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns 'economic shocks' to be 'with us for months' in rare national address"><strong><span>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns 'economic shocks' to be 'with us for months' in rare national address</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There were more dramatic messages, of course. He admitted it was "hard to be positive" as the war in the Middle East "caused the biggest spike in petrol and diesel prices in history".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australia is not an active participant in this war, but all Australians are paying higher prices because of it," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I know that you're seeing this at the servo and at the supermarket, and I understand farmers and truckies, small businesses and families are doing it tough, and the reality is, the economic shocks caused by this war will be with us for months."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-albanese-address-to-the-nation-full-speech-prime-minister-faces-the-nation-with-call-for-calm-but-little-detail/5364105d-db9f-4300-a5a5-a5846581e7d6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some experts have warned the supply chain impacts from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US and Israel's attacks may be bigger than the COVID-19 pandemic. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The International Energy Agency said the oil bottleneck was causing an energy crisis worse than the 1970s oil shocks combined with Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So it seems entirely appropriate that Albanese would push the national address button, last activated by Scott Morrison at the start of the pandemic and Kevin Rudd in the Global Financial Crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All three messages were similar in many ways: pre-recorded, just a few minutes long and in a calm, measured tone seeking to reassure a panicking nation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But at the end of the day the announcement of Albanese's address, a bolt out of the blue at 11am, hit with much more force than the pre-recorded video itself and left space for eight hours of anticipation and rampant speculation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It stood out for the scale of the government response. Halving the fuel excise for three months will be a huge help for drivers struggling with soaring fuel costs and cost taxpayers $2.55 billion.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it's small change compared to Rudd's $10 billion GFC stimulus package or the $20 billion of economic stimulus and health spending unveiled by Morrison.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Consider taking the bus to work, and don't buy too much fuel over Easter are important messages at a time when there are concerns about where Australia will get its fossil fuel from if Iran keeps its grip on the waterway through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it's mild compared to banning whole countries worth of people from flying Down Under or guaranteeing the savings deposits of every single Australian.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Albanese's political opponents were quick to seize on the lack of detail and criticise the government's handling of the fuel crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nationals Leader Matt Canavan called it a "melange of mixed messages", One Nation's Pauline Hanson said it was a "message to calm everyone down" amid concern over the polls and Greens leader Larissa Waters said simply "Should have made public transport free".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the low-key, low-impact message would seem to be part of the point. A way to reassure Australians that the government had a plan ahead of Easter and push back gently - for now at least - on any rumours of fuel rationing or more dramatic interventions to come.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Albanese stressed the unity of national cabinet and gave suggestions for ways Australians could help - if they wanted - in a marked departure from the whiplash orders the nation got sick of receiving during the pandemic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he didn't address many of the key questions Australians are asking. There was no update on fuel supplied or detail about what would happen if they dropped significantly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The country is currently at level two of the National Fuel Security Plan, described as "keeping Australia moving", and the government has continually emphasised that supplies to the country have not been disrupted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the concerns are around what will happen if the refineries in Asia that supply Australia can't replenish their own stocks from the Middle East, and the government is yet to outline what levels three and four of the four stage plan would look like.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He made clear that Australia was "not an active participant in this war". But he did not mention US President Donald Trump, or even the US itself, Israel or Iran.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Albanese left voters with a parting message that the "months ahead may not be easy" but the government would "do everything we can to protect Australia from the worst of it".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last night, many were yet to be convinced. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Watching the address from a pub in Sydney, Bob Bailey said it showed the "gravity of the situation we're in" but was "not all that reassuring". </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are trying to take measures obviously but the fuel excise, they've halved that, which is a positive, but the cost of fuel's doubled and they're making twice as much on GST as they were only a month ago," he told 9News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Filling up the tank elsewhere in the city, Nick Ashwood said there was "not much" to take away from the speech.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It looked like an announcement that someone told him to do before a bigger announcement, maybe in a week or so's time," he told 9News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div>