{"id":521682,"date":"2026-03-06T03:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T03:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/521682\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T03:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T03:54:12","slug":"australias-diesel-and-petrol-reserves-sit-at-34-days-parliament-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/521682\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s diesel and petrol reserves sit at 34 days, Parliament told"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image:<\/a><\/p>\n

Middle East tensions have increased concerns about Australia\u2019s fuel stock levels. Image: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

AUSTRALIA has just over a month of diesel and petrol supplies available if imports were disrupted, the Federal Government confirmed in Parliament this week, as escalating tensions in the Middle East raise fresh concerns about global fuel security and possible price rises.<\/p>\n

Energy Minister Chris Bowen told Parliament Australia currently has 34 days of diesel, 32 days of jet fuel and 36 days of petrol available.<\/p>\n

Mr Bowen provided the figures during Question Time in response to a question from One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce about the country\u2019s fuel security as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.<\/p>\n

He said fuel stocks were currently at their highest levels in 15 years, arguing the situation had improved since the Albanese Government introduced minimum fuel-holding requirements.<\/p>\n

However Mr Joyce questioned whether those figures referred strictly to fuel stored within Australia, noting some stocks counted were on vessels within Australia\u2019s Exclusive Economic Zone and could potentially be diverted elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Mr Bowen confirmed the numbers included fuel already in Australia or on ships within Australia\u2019s economic zone, but did not include tankers still overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrgent action needed\u201d to secure fuel supply: VFF<\/p>\n

The issue has drawn attention from farm groups concerned about the potential impact of global instability on Australia\u2019s highly import-dependent fuel supply.<\/p>\n

The Victorian Farmers Federation says recent geopolitical tensions highlight vulnerabilities in the country\u2019s supply chain and the importance of reliable fuel access for agriculture and regional communities.<\/p>\n

VFF president Brett Hosking said modern farming relies heavily on liquid fuels to run machinery, harvest crops and transport food and fibre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cA secure, resilient and affordable fuel supply underpins modern agriculture,\u201d Mr Hosking said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf our fuel supply runs dry, our agriculture industry and ability to feed millions would stop in a heartbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia\u00a0has been non-compliant<\/a>\u00a0with the International Energy Agency requirement to hold 90 days of net fuel imports since 2012, although the government maintains strategic reserves overseas that could be accessed in an emergency.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nationals leader David Littleproud called on the ACCC to take action on any petrol station looking to take advantage of the conflict to artificially inflate prices for consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuel prices went up on Sunday, in a matter of hours after the first airstrike,\u201d he told Sky News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is there are reserves that they\u2019d paid for, already at a lower price, before factoring any conflict in the Middle East, and the ACCC needs to make sure that their first action is to ensure that they\u2019re not being, that consumers are not being gouged.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also urged Australians not to panic buy, saying supply chains were still operating and the situation remained \u201cfluid\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important Australians don\u2019t exacerbate the situation by panic buying. There are supply chains in place to ensure continuity of supply,\u201d he said..<\/p>\n

Industry groups say the unfolding situation highlights the broader need for Australia to strengthen domestic fuel storage.<\/p>\n

The VFF is calling for:<\/p>\n

Greater onshore fuel reserves to reduce reliance on overseas imports;
Support for domestic refining capacity to keep at least part of Australia\u2019s liquid fuel supply national;
Policy settings that recognise fuel security as part of Australia\u2019s critical infrastructure and economic resilience
Further investment into diversified fuel options, such as biofuels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Middle East tensions have increased concerns about Australia\u2019s fuel stock levels. Image: Shutterstock AUSTRALIA has just over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-521682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}