The only petrol station in a small New South Wales town has run out of fuel amid ongoing oil supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.
The service station in Batlow, nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, put up signs earlier this week alerting customers it was “sold out”.
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Batlow service station worker Sam Hughes said the company had decided the petrol price was fluctuating too much to purchase more fuel.
Australia releases six days’ worth of petrol from emergency stockpile
“Even if you could find the fuel, you wouldn’t be able to put it at a reasonable price,” he said.
“The financial exposure of the small independent retailer is also a big concern.
“If the price has gone up so quickly in one go, where’s the price going to go tomorrow?”
This has forced residents to travel half an hour to the nearby towns of Tumut and Tumbarumba.
Mr Hughes said it was a “very frustrating” situation and was concerned about the time it could take to resolve the issue.
“If it draws out it’s going to start becoming a real problem for the industries in the area,” he said.
Sam Hughes supply uncertainty and fluctuating prices have made restocking unfeasible. (ABC Riverina: Jostina Basta)
‘Tyranny of distance is alive and well’
Batlow orchardist and livestock producer Barney Hyams said the situation had been manageable so far, but he has had to travel to Tumut to stock up.
His apple crop is not due for harvest until May, but he says the situation has made life “difficult” for farmers in mid-harvest as well as residents.
“There’s a lot of retired people here and people who are financially challenged, and you quite often seen them getting just $10 or $20 worth of petrol,” he said.
“Now they’re going to have to travel down to Tumut or Adelong now to purchase that fuel, so it’s going to have a real economic hit on the region.”
Barney Hyams says the going will be rough if the supply shortage drags on. (ABC Riverina: Jostina Basta)
Mr Hyams is managing, but if the situation persists to harvest he says it could impact crucial work such as fertilising paddocks for grazing livestock.
“The tyranny of distance is alive and well in rural and regional NSW and Australia,” he said.
“It’s going to be a struggle.”
Oil production hit across the Middle East
Fellow Batlow orchardist Greg Mouat said he had replenished his diesel stock prior to the conflict in the Middle East escalating and did a secondary top-up about a week ago.
“Personally we’re in good shape,” he said.
“It is beginning of harvest and there is a lot of fruit to get off, of course, but I think we can get through.
“We’ll just be a little more circumspect about how we’re using it, what we need to do and what we don’t need to do, and put our own fuel-saving measures in place.
“Hopefully in that time we may get back to a little bit of normality.”Federal, state opposition weigh in
On Friday Premier Chris Minns rejected the idea of rationing fuel in Sydney to try to ensure regional areas had access to reserves.
“Logistically that’s a difficult thing to get up and running in a short space of time, however, it doesn’t mean you don’t do anything.” he said.
“I understand the federal government will be making an announcement soon about the strategic reserves, particularly for regional communities, particularly for regional New South Wales, where we’ve seen acute shortages.”
Running on empty — how we were caught short of oil
He said there was “excess consumption” at the bowser and urged the public to be prudent.
“Right now we need people to buy what they need for right now, and that means that if you purchase more than you need, it’s likely to come from another business, another sole trader, another member of the community,” Mr Minns said.
His remarks came as the federal opposition’s spokesperson for resources, Queensland senator Susan McDonald, called for the government to take immediate action to ensure diesel supplies were available to regional communities.
“Diesel underpins Australia’s economy, safety and freedom,” she said.
“Regional Australia doesn’t operate like capital cities. Distances are vast, charging infrastructure is limited, and our food production and supply chains depend on diesel.
“The government must ensure regional wholesalers and independent operators receive fair access to diesel so farmers and producers can keep Australia fed.”
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This morning the NSW Coalition announced a “fuel transparency plan”, proposing legislation to require petrol stations to report their maximum fuel prices and lock them in for the day.
“It’s really tough in the regions right now, ” NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane said.
“That volatility, those price spikes and the shortages — it’s tough.
“We want to introduce stability as much as we can with the levers we have at a state level, and believe by providing price guarantees for 24 hours that will prevent some of the panic buying.
“People will know they have a window of opportunity where the price won’t change. It won’t solve everything, but we believe it is an added layer of protection and stability for consumers.”
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