WA Premier Roger Cook has “no confidence” the country will avoid moving to level three on the national fuel security plan as the Strait of Hormuz closure continues to drive an oil shock that has rattled the Australian economy.
Speaking to a crowd of 900 West Australian business and political figures at a Business News breakfast on Thursday, Cook offered a pessimistic assessment of the state of fuel uncertainty, despite Commonwealth assurances national supplies were confirmed until mid-May.
When asked, from what he had seen in the Middle East in the past 48 hours, whether he had any confidence Australia would remain at level two of the national fuel security plan, Cook responded quickly: “No. No confidence.”
“I think we need to be aware that this situation could get worse before it gets better,” he said.
“We need to understand that even the tail of this issue, if the Strait of Hormuz was open today, will continue for many months to come.
“We wake up every morning and think surely we’re moving in the right direction, and we wake up this morning, and we see the situation in Geelong, which is compounding a problem on top of a disaster.”
The nation is currently at level two of the national fuel security plan, which recommends governments monitor the situation and plan for further fuel shocks.
It suggests Australians consider voluntarily using less fuel to avoid the impact of higher prices.
Level three of the plan includes calls to “implement a national approach for practical measures to reduce fuel demand”.
The alert level can only be increased with the agreement of national cabinet.
However, Cook said level three wasn’t about rationing, “but it is targeting priority industries and sectors”.
When fronting media after the event, Cook walked back his comments slightly but reiterated it was about planning for the worst.
“I’m not saying we’re going to go to level three,” he said.
“What I’m saying is that we have to be prepared for the worst. We have to hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst.
“If we sit on our hands and just assume that everything’s going to get better, we won’t be ready. We’ll be caught flat-footed if the situation continues to deteriorate.
“That’s what people expect from their state government. They expect us to be ready. They expect us to have things in hand to make sure that we can respond.”
WA sets the trend as more states mull their own fuel reserves
The WA government’s plan to shore up fuel supply in the state by purchasing 4 million litres of diesel is being considered by the NSW government, with Premier Chris Minns confirming he is looking at it.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor pounced on the news, saying it showed states thought the Commonwealth was losing control of the fuel crisis.
Cook said he hoped WA’s push to establish a reserve did not make it look like his state was competing with others for fuel.
“I hope what people acknowledge is that Western Australia has a unique set of circumstances,” he said.
“[WA is] the largest jurisdiction in this country, probably one of the largest jurisdictions in the world, and it’s a jurisdiction which relies heavily on diesel, not just for its transport industry, its resources industry, but also for its energy needs, particularly in remote communities.”
The fuel was purchased from BP via Cambridge Gulf for $10 million and will be stored at Cambridge Gulf’s facility in Wyndham.
The fuel was due later this month, with a spokeswoman for Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson confirming the state was considering options for future fuel purchases.
Extracted in full from: https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/wa-premier-has-no-confidence-fuel-crisis-won-t-worsen-20260416-p5zogs.html
