GOVERNMENT SLEEPWALKING TOWARDS FUEL SUPPLY CRUNCH

Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald, is calling on the Albanese Government to level with Australians about its fuel strategy as farmers and businesses struggle to pay costs and stay afloat.

Senator McDonald said Australia was currently relying on fuel shipments that largely departed the Middle East before the Iran conflict began, with new supply flows now severely constrained.

“Australia is effectively running on pre-conflict fuel shipments, and there is no certainty about what replaces them,” Senator McDonald said.

“Prices this week are already higher than they were before the excise was cut and it’s only going to get worse.

“The Albanese Government was caught flat-footed before the crisis and it has bungled the response since, telling Australians there was plenty of fuel while service stations ran dry.

“The lack of information coming from the Albanese government means that businesses can’t make the decisions that would lessen the impact of this crisis and determine whether they survive.

“Farmers don’t know if they’ll be able to harvest or plant without diesel and fertiliser. Cane farmers in North Queensland say they only have about 5% of the diesel required to cut this year’s crops.

“Trucking companies vital for food security can’t absorb the extra costs for much longer and can’t plan because the government isn’t giving them any certainty.

“We are heading for a fuel and food supply cliff.

“Briefing notes from a meeting of the Government’s Fuel Supply Taskforce in late March show a diesel supply chain assessment would be completed within a month, with a broader food supply chain analysis to follow.

“If it takes a month or more to complete this work, it will be too late. We need to know now how supply will be maintained as conditions tighten.”

Senator McDonald also took a swipe at rail unions in Queensland engaging in strike action, worsening the pressure on road transport.

“Rail industrial action is forcing more freight onto trucks, increasing demand for diesel when supply is already under strain,” she said.

“In the middle of a national supply crisis, this is unconscionable conduct by the unions.”

Senator McDonald said reports of transport operators running out of diesel last week, including in major hubs like Melbourne, should be treated as an early warning.

“Instead of preparing Australians for what’s coming, the Prime Minister’s message over Easter was effectively: carry on, just don’t use too much fuel,” she said.

“That is not leadership.”

Senator McDonald said Australians deserved straight answers and more urgent action.

“It’s impossible to overstate how serious the situation is,” she said.

“Businesses deserve better, workers deserve better and families deserve better than what the Albanese government is serving up.”

ENDS