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The primary objective is to maintain affordable prices while ensuring a steady flow of fuel into the nation.
Yesterday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen addressed the current fuel situation, revealing that Australia now has approximately nine days’ worth of petrol reserves, which is a slight improvement from previous statistics. Additionally, the country holds about a month’s supply of diesel.
In an interview on Today, Bowen described the situation as akin to “a game of whack-a-mole,” where various issues keep surfacing, and the government is continually working to address them as they arise.
“The toughest aspect of a crisis like this is trying to stay ahead of unforeseen challenges,” Bowen remarked. “We have never encountered a shortage of this nature, coupled with such high prices, in our country before.”
Meanwhile, the opposition has urged the government to reduce the fuel excise to provide immediate relief at the pump. However, there is skepticism about the effectiveness of this measure, given the unprecedented nature of the current crisis.
The opposition has called on the government to cut the fuel excise to bring instant price relief at the bowser, but Croucher questioned whether it would be a truly effective strategy given the unprecedented crisis facing the country.
“Taking the excise off fuel brings prices down a little bit, but in this environment where prices are surging… there’s just no guarantee,” he said, noting it would need to be tightly enforced to ensure fuel companies didn’t take the profits unfairly.
He said tax breaks to farmers and transport companies were a more timely and needed measure that would bring relief from fuel and cost-of-living pressures.
“It makes it easier for people,” he said. “We need more of that.”
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