Source: Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Firstly, if I can make some comments about Tropical Cyclone Narelle, because it’s been a really tough night for so many people in Western Australia. Please continue to look after each other. The system’s been downgraded, but it is still dangerous and the aftermath of heavy winds and rainfall is continuing. We’re in touch regularly with the WA Government and stand ready to assist with the recovery. And can I just give a big shout out to the emergency service workers. When you looked at the news last night, what you saw was locals being pretty courageous amongst what were really difficult circumstances. And that included, of course, those people who were helping their fellow Australians. At the worst of times, we always see the best of the Australian character. And we’re seeing that in Western Australia at the moment. It does say something about extreme weather conditions, that you can have a cyclone cross the coast at Cape York and has continued right across the Northern Territory, right across to WA and down the WA coast as well. So, our thoughts are with everyone in Western Australia at the moment, but also those who are continuing to be impacted in the Northern Territory and Queensland from the aftermath of this cyclone.
Today, I want to make some important comments about decisions that the Government has made regarding our response to the fuel security issues arising from the war in the Middle East. This is a war that is across the other side of the world, but it’s having a real impact here, as it is in every nation. Here, people in local communities, farmers, small businesses, miners are all being impacted. If you go to your local petrol station and there’s no fuel, that causes understandable distress. We are working around the clock to make sure we deal with the fuel security issues. And today we have a really important announcement. The Government is taking national action to help get the fuel restocked. We know that six out of 81 ships that were scheduled to arrive in April cancelled, those arrivals have been more than replaced by other arrivals that have now been scheduled. We’re working to get more fuel to Australia, but we’re also working on distribution to get it to where it needs to go. Which is why we’ve ensured, for example, that the fuel reserves that have been released are going to regional areas, to areas that are most in need.
Today, I announce that Australia will establish new powers to get fuel here for Australians. Our new fuel security powers will enable the Government to underwrite the purchase of fuel by the private sector. Importantly, it will also allow for the purchase of fertiliser and other essentials as well. I want us to have the strongest possible plans, so we’re ready for what may come. I want to keep our people, our economy, and our nation moving. We’re already in discussions with local and international fuel suppliers to help firm up and source new cargoes required to keep Australia moving. Put simply, we will use Export Finance Australia to underwrite the purchase of shiploads of fuel that will add to supply here in Australia. This support from the Government will not be business as usual. It has to be additional supplies that are available on the international market, and it literally will be underwriting the purchase of shiploads of fuel to get here to Australia. We’ve been working on this over the last few days, and I want to thank the officials in Chris’s department, in mine, in Treasury and Finance, and others as well, working with the business community on this plan.
How it will work is that on Monday we’ll introduce into the House of Representatives amendments to the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act. These powers will be used to help acquire the additional supply that’s so valuable for Australia’s fuel security, where it would be cost prohibitive for private suppliers to source on commercial terms without government support. Put simply, there is a risk of a private purchase of a shipload of fuel at higher prices because there is so much uncertainty with the war in the Middle East that this is about risk mitigation for them to add to supply here. It will give suppliers the confidence to secure additional and discretionary cargoes and use it to service uncontracted demand, including for regional and independent fuel suppliers. So, we want more fuel here, and we want to make sure it gets to the right place as well.
While Australia’s fuel supply outlook remains secure in the near term because of the actions that the Government has taken, let’s be clear that the longer this war goes on, the more the impacts will be. So what we want to do is to be overprepared, and that is essentially the action that we’re taking now to prepare and shield Australians from the potential implications which are there. This is another example following on from all of the other actions that we’ve taken, the actions of the ACCC, the actions of the Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator, the work that we’ve done with international suppliers to keep those scheduled fuel supplies coming to Australia as well. This is in addition to that. And I want to assure Australians that we will do whatever is necessary to make sure that their interests are looked after, because we understand that this is a really difficult time here in Australia, as it is right around the world. I’ll call upon the minister and then we’ll take some questions.
< CHRIS BOWEN, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY:
Also, I can give a little update that since we released the Minimum Stock Obligation, the 20 per cent, a few examples – I’ve given figures in recent days about how much fuel is flowing extra to regional Australia, but just a little update. For example, one provider has provided an additional 20 per cent to go to farmers and regional communities out of fuel. Another provider has provided 1,200 kilolitres extra diesel to a regional distributor, and one provider has provided an extra 400 kilolitres to the rural Dubbo region, which is so important and seeding at the moment, to fill bulk tanks. Now, we know that demand, particularly in rural Australia, because agriculture is at a very busy time, remains exceedingly high. And this supply is still not enough, but we are increasing supply and working in a very complicated supply chain to get the fuel to where it needs to go. To add to the Prime Minister’s remarks about today’s important announcement, our very close consultation with the fuel industry over the last week or so has told us that while the ships continue to come to Australia, and while the six cancellations have been more than replaced with new orders, the fact of the matter is cargo internationally is available, but is getting increasingly expensive and increasingly risky in a volatile environment as the Prime Minister said, oil prices moving up and down.
And so, companies who do want to order more cargoes in the national interest are also facing very difficult decisions. That’s in the national interest that that cargo comes to Australia, not other countries. So, we want to help the companies make the decision to buy those cargoes. So, as the PM said, on Monday, we’ll be introducing legislation, which will give Export Finance Australia the capacity to have a very flexible suite of measures to work with companies. They can provide insurance, they can provide derivatives, they can provide loans and other arrangements to make sure that those companies can go and get those cargoes for Australia and for Australians. At the moment, those companies are making those commercial decisions. They are buying cargoes, but at elevated prices. If those prices continue to move around, there’ll be cargoes that Australia misses out on unless the Government acts in close partnership.
So that’s exactly what we’re doing today. I want to thank, as the PM said, my ministerial colleagues, the Treasurer, the Trade Minister and others for working with us to make this a reality. It will also, as the PM said, support Minister Julie Collins in her work to get fertiliser and other key resources into Australia to make sure that we are ahead of the curve. The supply chain is strong, but in this environment, Australia needs to stay one step ahead and under this Prime Minister, we are one step ahead of the curve, seeing what is coming down the road, that this is going to get more volatile, potentially. The prices internationally will go up more, potentially, so we need to be prepared for that, not just for today, but for the coming weeks. And under this new arrangement, which we’ll get through the Parliament, hopefully – we ask all parties to support this, we’ll obviously be providing relevant briefings to get it through the Parliament quickly so it can start work in the best interests of Australians. Thank you.
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER:
< JOURNALIST:
< PRIME MINISTER: