Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed the national petrol reserves have jumped to 46 days, a 10-day improvement from the beginning of the US-Iran conflict.
However, the figure still falls well below the IEA’s 90-day fuel reserve requirement, with government intervention into fuel consumption under active consideration.
After a meeting of national cabinet, Mr Albanese confirmed the country was at Level 2 of the National Fuel Security Plan, but refused to rule out raising the threat to Level 3 or 4.
Asked whether Australia was close to escalating to Level 3, Mr Albanese said it was “certainly not imminent”.
“What we are doing is making sure that we continue … to be straightforward with people, which is (the fact) we are in uncertain times,” Mr Albanese told reporters after National Cabinet on Thursday.
“Some of this is obviously dependent upon how long the war goes for.”
Under Level 2, known as “Keeping Australia Moving”, fuel supply continues to operate effectively but localised supply disruptions may occur.
“Australia’s fuel supply outlook remains secure in the near term,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
“However, we’re working hard to prepare for contingencies in the event of supply disruptions in fuel and in fertiliser.”
Mr Albanese continued to urge the public to voluntarily reduce fuel use and criticised fuel hoarding as dangerous.
He described stocking up on jerry cans loaded with petrol as “not a sensible thing to do” and not “the right thing to do”.
“It’s also potentially a dangerous thing to do to have a garage full of petrol rather than of toilet paper, a very different product.”
Australia imports around 90 per cent of its transport fuel, while domestic refining capacity has declined sharply over the past two decades.
Meanwhile, Mr Albanese denied he was in discussions with fuel companies to subsidise diesel production at existing refineries, or the possibility of opening new refineries.
“What we are doing is continuing to concentrate on supply. We’re looking, of course, across the board. Anything that we can do … we’re open for dialogue,” he said.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has acknowledged that both Level 3 and 4 of the fuel security plan remain “under consideration”.
Level 3 of the fuel security plan would force the release of supply from the Minimum Stockholding Obligation, and would include measures to “reduce fuel demand”.
Level 4, the highest setting, would involve stronger government intervention to protect critical users, and would likely include fuel rationing.
Meanwhile, Mr Albanese’s management of the crisis has drawn criticism after he launched a social media campaign promoting his response.
A stylised video featuring Mr Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen walking in slow motion was captioned: “We’re doing everything we can to help secure more fuel.”
Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs Daniel Wild said the video showed the government was focused on politics instead of the national crisis.
“This tells you everything you need to know about this government – it is all politics, all the time,” he told SkyNews.com.au.
“Rather than spending time and money telling Australians how good they reckon they are, this government should just focus on fixing the problem at hand.”
Meanwhile, the latest polling data shows that energy policy has emerged as a key concern for the majority of voters, who are worried about energy and fuel security.
Fifty-seven per cent of voters supported increasing domestic gas and oil production, even if it undermines legislated net zero targets.
While Labor has shied away from fossil fuels and thrown billions at its renewables plan, even the majority of Labor voters supported more domestic fossil fuel production.
Forty-seven per cent of Labor voters endorsed more oil and gas development, despite net zero targets, while support rose to 79 per cent for Coalition and One Nation voters.
At the same time, 63 per cent of voters support a $20 billion investment to build a 90-day fuel reserve, in line with requirements set by the International Energy Agency.
That backing spans demographics and political affiliations, including 73 per cent of Labor voters, 67 per cent of Coalition voters and 66 per cent of One Nation voters.
Extracted in full from: https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/anthony-albanese-reveals-10-day-boost-in-petrol-supply-but-refuses-to-rule-out-tougher-fuel-measures/news-story/0ad97e51acaf6a63eca6dabe560c9a7e
