There’s been no bigger federal issue this last week than fuel supplies to regional Australia. In Question Time last sitting fortnight The Nationals and Coalition applied sustained pressure on the Albanese Labor Government on this important topic for Swan Hill district and Mallee residents, as prices soar – particularly for diesel, if it is available at all  

Energy Minister Chris Bowen kept insisting there was no fuel supply issue, and regional Australian stories to the contrary were a feature of Coalition questioning.  At last, Thursday week ago Minister Bowen backflipped and admitted there was a crisis and implemented measures on Thursday and Friday to assist.  First of all, Minister Bowen said last Thursday he was easing standards he had imposed in December – back to how they were – so unleaded petrol could get out to the regions, he said, for ‘harvesters’.  Find me a harvester that runs on unleaded and I’ll find you a magic pudding.  The Minister claimed this Ampol petrol deal would help regional Australia, but Maxwell Smart would say he ‘missed it by that much’.

Secondly, the Minister reduced the mandatory stockpiling obligation by 20 per cent.  He claimed the ‘MSO’ was a Labor initiative – it wasn’t. The Coalition legislated the MSO in Government and spent over $260 million improving our diesel storage capacity by 40 per cent.  Then Minister Bowen warned the supplies would not bring immediate relief. However, with the 7 to 14 week lead time for fuel released under the MSO to get to rural and remote Australia, why did the Albanese Labor Government wait until service stations ran out, 13 days after the Iran conflict began, to take action?

Minister Bowen utterly misunderstands that diesel underpins regional economies, and our food security. I have heard from many farmers and peak bodies that diesel shortages have meant they are receiving maybe 25% or half of what they need to sow, spray or harvest.  This is a crisis, Minister Bowen.

I met with the ACCC yesterday to discuss these issues from price gouging, to regional supply or distribution issues and to ask what action are they taking to ensure a fairer distribution to where fuel is needed most.  If our supply chains falter we will all suffer, including in the cities.