Energy Minister Chris Bowen has insisted there is no fuel crisis but has suggested Australians could work from home as prices continue to surge and some petrol stations begin to run out of fuel.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has suggested Australians work from home to reduce their fuel use, as prices remain elevated and the government insists there is no crisis.
The global energy economy has been upturned by the partial closure of a critical oil shipping route in the Middle East after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February.
The International Energy Agency on Saturday suggested member nations ration fuel reserves, and encourage working from home and carpooling in “the absence of a swift resolution” in the Middle East.
Pressed on the work from home recommendation on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Mr Bowen said it was a good idea where applicable.
“Well, I think that’s a sensible thing to do in any environment, really, you know, work from home has become an important part of Australian working life,” he said.
“I think people would already be looking at their options to minimise their fuel use. At the moment, for other people it’s a lot harder. So, I don’t think a one-size-fits-all approach is necessary.”
The government has painstakingly denied the nation is experiencing a fuel crisis since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.
Several service stations across the state ran out of petrol last week despite Anthony Albanese also denying that Australia was facing a fuel crisis.
Many of the shortage hotspots had previously been reported across regional NSW, but service stations in metropolitan areas, including in Sydney faced extreme shortages.
Nine service station retailers across western and northwestern Sydney completely ran out of petrol or were very close to running out, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Allan Fels, former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said the government’s messaging was likely having an opposite effect.
“I think that some of the things that are being talked about now, like maybe work more from home, drive slower, they have a small downward effect on demand,” he said.
“But they’re sort of offset by the public reaction, the public hears there’s some rationing and they tend to rush to the fuel pumps, to the bowsers, to fill up, so small measures don’t necessarily have much effect.”
He said there was not much that could realistically be done to curb demand in a more natural manner.
“It is true that the high prices, and they’ll go up further if there are shortages, have a bit of a rationing effect … But again, not much of an effect because the demand for petrol is not very sensitive to price like it is for other things like coffee.”
Mr Bowen said the overall fuel supply remained strong, with petrol stocks “going up a little” to a 38-day reserve, and diesel and jet fuel at 30 days.
“That indicates that while we’ve released more from the strategic reserve, the ships continue to arrive in good numbers, and both our refineries are working at absolutely full pelt, and they’re both entirely dedicated to Australian suppliers, not exports,” he said.
He did confirm six ships carrying fuel to Australia had cancelled their deliveries since the outbreak of the war in Iran.
He said Australia typically received about 81 boats per month delivering fuel to Australia.
“We’re aware of six boats have been cancelled out of that 81, on average,” he said.
“Some of those have already been replaced by the importers and refiners with other sources.”
The ships from Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea were due to arrive next month but were cancelled or deferred.
“The flow of oil to Asian refineries has slowed and that has downward impacts on us,” Mr Bowen said on Sunday.
“We’re in an uncertain environment… people think ‘well, all the ships are coming now, and one day they’ll all stop in one go’.
“[But] that is highly unlikely to be the case. It’s much more likely that there’ll be bumps in supply, but that governments will work with the refiners and the importers to manage those and minimise impacts.”
Mr Bowen previously butted heads with a journalist over his conflicting advice about Australia’s fuel situation as the war in Iran continues.
He hit back at suggestions he had made a U-turn on use of the word “crisis”.
“Yesterday you said that there’s no need to panic, a few hours later, you say we’re in a crisis,” a reporter said earlier in March.
Mr Bowen said he was referring to the war itself.
“There’s a war. I think war ticks the box of crisis, but also… I’ve said continually Australia’s fuel supply is secure and it is,” he said at the time.