More than 100 service stations across NSW have run out of diesel due to the fuel crisis amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Monday that independent service stations were having difficulties securing access to petrol and diesel.
“As it stands today, as a result of the strategic reserves being released and the sulphur content restrictions being eased, there is in fact more petrol in the economy today than there was five weeks ago or four weeks ago,” Mr Minns said.
“The issues that you’re seeing in terms of supply for consumers is the distribution of it, and also in some areas overconsumption of people just taking more than they need.”
Mr Minns confirmed 105 stations in NSW didn’t have access to diesel and 35 stations didn’t have access to anything.
“But there’s 2500 stations across NSW today,” he said.
Families and businesses are being urged to only take what they need, with Mr Minns adding that it can be “dangerous” to store petrol and diesel in large quantities.
“The second point we make is, particularly in regional communities, you might be taking (fuel) from someone else that really needs it,” he said.
‘Be a grown-up’: Joyce, Plibersek trade insults
It comes after a talk show segment was derailed, leaving a journalist speechless, after two guests traded barbs while live on air.
While speaking to Sunrise host Natalie Barr on Monday morning, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce and Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek hurled insults at one another as they bickered over Australia’s growing fuel scarcity problems.
The sparks began flying as Ms Plibersek said she acknowledged there were “problems in getting fuel supplies out to regional areas”.
“Dozens of fuel bowsers are empty … this is in Neutral Bay, in the city, in Sydney, there’s dozens (of bowsers) empty. The little signs say no fuel,” Barr said, correcting the minister.
“That’s exactly why we’ve released fuels from our emergency stocks. It’s why we’ve got Ampol prioritising regional areas, it’s why we’ve appointed a fuel co-ordinator. We know there are problems with distribution,” Ms Plibersek said.
“The most helpful things people can do is just buy the fuel they need and no more … there is the same amount of fuel coming as we’ve previously had.”
As Ms Plibersek spoke, Mr Joyce said “this is crazy” repeatedly.
Eventually, Ms Plibersek lashed out, fed up with the interruptions, telling Mr Joyce to “be a grown-up for a change”.
“It would be really helpful if you behaved as an adult on issues like this,” she said as Mr Joyce continued to interrupt her.
“Work from home so you don’t use fuel; sounds like fuel rationing to me Tanya,” Mr Joyce said.
The suggestion of working from home originally came from Energy Minister Chris Bowen and has since been slammed by several high-profile opposition MPs, including deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume.
Speaking to Sky News on Monday morning, Senator Hume said she was scratching her head at the idea.
“Even if everybody that could work from home, whose employers wanted them to did so, it’s not going to solve the problem, which is one of supply and distribution,” she said.
“Just last week or the week before last we heard Chris Bowen say that there isn’t a problem, that we have plenty of fuel. Then, days later, he was saying that this is a national crisis. He was employing a fuel tsar to essentially do what should be his job, perhaps because he’s distracted by his job at the UN.
“Work from home might be terrific for people in cities, but it doesn’t help the truckers, it doesn’t help fishers, it doesn’t help farmers and it doesn’t help those struggling with supply and access to diesel and petrol right now.”
Industry Minister Tim Ayres said the government wouldn’t be “complacent” about what the war meant for Australian industries and assured people that he was “watching it very closely”.
“You will have seen the announcement the Prime Minister made last week of the co-ordinator general role in this area, working with the states and territories to make sure there is alignment between what the commonwealth is doing terms of fuel supply nationally and working with industry and the states to deliver right through the chain,” Mr Ayres said.
“We’ve enabled the ACCC to take a firmer role, both on the price monitoring side and providing stiffer penalties, but we are also making sure that they don’t get in the way of co-operation between the fuel companies and regional communities.
“We are not complacent about what this what this war in the Middle East means for Australia and Australian industry.”
