Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a rare national television address calling on Australians to reduce their fuel consumption as supply disruptions linked to the escalating Middle East conflict threaten to worsen in coming weeks. The address, broadcast across all major networks on Tuesday evening, urged households and businesses to limit non-essential travel and consider carpooling arrangements. It marked only the second time a sitting prime minister has used the format of a direct national address outside of a natural disaster or pandemic.
Mr Albanese outlined that Australia's national fuel reserves had fallen to approximately 21 days of net import cover, well below the International Energy Agency's recommended 90-day benchmark. Petrol prices in capital cities have already surged past $2.50 per litre in recent days, with diesel climbing above $2.80 per litre at many metropolitan terminals. The Prime Minister confirmed the government had activated the National Oil Supplies Emergency Committee and authorised the release of stockholdings from the minimum stockholding obligation held by major fuel importers.
Australia imports more than 90 per cent of its refined fuel, making it one of the most exposed developed nations to disruptions in global shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Successive governments have been warned about the vulnerability of the country's liquid fuel supply chain since the closure of multiple domestic refineries over the past decade. Only two refineries remain operational — Ampol's Lytton facility in Brisbane and Viva Energy's Geelong refinery in Victoria — leaving the nation heavily dependent on imports from Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the address was overdue and accused the government of failing to act on fuel security recommendations made by a 2020 Senate inquiry. Australian Automobile Association chief executive Michael Bradley called on the government to suspend the fuel excise temporarily to ease cost-of-living pressure at the bowser. Transport Workers' Union national secretary Michael Kaine warned that freight operators were already facing unsustainable cost increases that would flow through to supermarket prices within days.
The federal government is expected to announce a broader emergency fuel management plan before the end of the week, including possible restrictions on bulk fuel purchases and priority allocations for essential services such as ambulances, fire trucks, and food distribution networks. The National Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday to coordinate a response across state and territory jurisdictions. Economists at Deloitte Access Economics have forecast that sustained fuel prices above $2.50 per litre could shave 0.3 percentage points off GDP growth in the June quarter if the disruption persists beyond four weeks.