Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, during an address at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. <\/p>\n
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday urged\u00a0Australians to\u00a0avoid\u00a0panic\u00a0buying\u00a0of petrol and diesel, which he said had led to shortages in some rural regions, and stressed the nation’s\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0levels\u00a0remained\u00a0stable.<\/p>\n
Australia\u00a0is dependent on imports for about 90% of its\u00a0fuel\u00a0needs, and fear of\u00a0supply\u00a0disruptions due to the escalating\u00a0war in the Middle East\u00a0has led to a doubling of\u00a0fuel\u00a0demand in some regions resulting in localized shortages.<\/p>\n
Albanese said the federal government had already taken steps to ensure an uninterrupted\u00a0supply\u00a0of\u00a0fuel\u00a0into the country.<\/p>\n
“Our\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0is currently secure. However, I want us to be over-prepared,” Albanese told reporters.<\/p>\n
“My message to\u00a0Australians is please do not take more\u00a0fuel\u00a0than you need. That is how you can help. That’s the\u00a0Australian way,” he said, following a meeting with state and territory leaders.<\/p>\n
Conflict in the Middle East\u00a0intensified\u00a0on Wednesday, driving\u00a0oil prices\u00a0higher, as Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the South Pars gas field, the world’s biggest, and retaliated with attacks on oil and gas targets across the Gulf.<\/p>\n
Albanese said his government would roll out additional measures in the coming days to safeguard\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0and appointed Anthea Harris, the former boss of the\u00a0Australian Energy Regulator, as head of a national\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0task force to tackle shortages and improve the domestic\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0chain.<\/p>\n
The Reserve Bank of\u00a0Australia\u00a0warned on Thursday the war was a\u00a0material risk\u00a0to the\u00a0Australian economy, though it said domestic banks remained well-positioned to support growth in the event of a significant downturn.<\/p>\n
After widespread concerns among consumers over\u00a0fuel\u00a0pricing and\u00a0supply\u00a0issues,\u00a0Australia’s competition regulator on Thursday began an\u00a0investigation\u00a0into allegations of anti-competitive conduct by major\u00a0fuel\u00a0suppliers including Ampol<\/a>, BP’s\u00a0Australian unit, Mobil Oil\u00a0Australia\u00a0and Viva Energy<\/a>, which operates Shell and Liberty\u00a0fuel\u00a0stations.<\/p>\n Neighboring New Zealand said it had asked officials to work on contingency plans for an eight-to-12-week response period to mitigate potential\u00a0supply\u00a0disruptions.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters the country’s\u00a0fuel\u00a0supply\u00a0remained adequate but warned even if the conflict eased soon that would not deliver immediate relief.<\/p>\n