Australia in April 2026: the most important developments in politics
Australia's politics in April 2026 were shaped by a change at the top of the military and by the government's response to Washington's criticism over the Strait of Hormuz.
On 13 April Australia appointed Lieutenant General Natasha Fox as army chief, the first woman to hold the post. The appointment was part of a wider shake-up of defence leadership, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also named a new chief of the Australian Defence Force.
The war crimes case of Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, drew the same level of attention. He remained in jail after his lawyers did not apply for bail on 8 April, and a Sydney court granted bail on 16 April while he awaits an appeal against his defamation loss. The allegations relate to his service in Afghanistan, and members of the Australian Defence Force were named as witnesses in the case. The Australian War Memorial said it would review its display on him.
Relations with the United States were the other main theme. On 7 April Donald Trump criticised South Korea, Japan, Australia and NATO for not sending support to the Strait of Hormuz. On 8 April Albanese criticised Trump's rhetoric on the Middle East while welcoming the start of a ceasefire, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong rebuked Trump's threats against Iran. Australia called for the ceasefire to extend to Lebanon, and Albanese urged a resumption of US-Iran peace talks. On 16 April he joined a call with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Hormuz, while Trump repeated that he was 'not happy with Australia'. Albanese later declined to criticise Trump over his statements about Australia.
Elsewhere, former US Marine pilot Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen who denies allegations of training Chinese military pilots, lost his appeal against extradition to the United States. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom. The activist group GetUp was reported to be spending $600,000 on a campaign to defeat Pauline Hanson in an upcoming byelection.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.