The Informer: Sobering talk of nuclear war and drinking the bathwater

With the war in Ukraine showing little sign of ending - although there are always hopes the talks will work - two senior retired Defence diplomats laid the situation out in quite blunt terms.

An isolated Vladimir Putin "drinking his own bathwater" risks escalating his invasion of Ukraine, and Europe is now "on the precipice" of nuclear war", they said.

Former Defence secretary Dennis Richardson and former Defence deputy secretary Paul Dibb told the National Press Club the Russian autocrat will not withdraw until Ukraine is split, and guaranteed not to join the NATO military pact.

Mr Dibb, who spent two decades focusing on the Soviet Union, said there was a "real risk of escalation" to nuclear war and "nothing much has changed" in Moscow since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Prime Minister was at it, too, telling a business conference in Perth the world is facing the biggest energy shock since the 1970s.

"That is likely to depress global growth and we know higher oil prices means greater pressure on family budgets at the petrol bowser," Mr Morrison warned the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.

Petrol prices have struck record levels above $2 per litre in the past week.

Defence Minster Peter Dutton is always one for the sobering talk. Today he was warning "credible military force" would be used, if necessary to deter the spread of authoritarianism in the Indo-Pacific.

Mr Dutton addressed the United States Studies Centre warning of "ominous signs" stemming from a Chinese-Russian alliance, which means Australia and the US may have to step up their defence in the Indo-Pacific region.

This announcement comes right after the release of an annual report from the US Studies Centre that reveals Americans are less certain about the value of international partnerships.

USSC chief executive Simon Jackman has said "Australia has really no choice other than to take on more for itself."

The fear of China certainly isn't helped by conservative right-wing lobby group Advance Australia, that has been driving an anti-Labor political ad around Canberra that suggests ties to China leader Xi Jinping.

The Australian Electoral Commission has said it was looking into the ad after criticism on whether it was a breach of electoral laws.

If you were looking for good news on the COVID situation, that was disappointing, too.

An explosion in COVID-19 cases in Australia's most populated state is a reminder the pandemic is not yet over.

In NSW, 30,402 new cases were reported on Wednesday but the state's health department said a data error meant 10,000 cases from Sunday and Monday had to be included in the numbers.

Victoria also recorded its highest daily infection total in five weeks with 9426 new cases.

There were 7640 new cases in Tasmania, 1226 in the ACT and 6136 in Queensland.

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