Hundreds of petrol stations across Australia have run dry during the Easter long weekend, leaving motorists stranded and triggering emergency talks between federal and state governments. The fuel shortage, driven by ongoing supply disruptions linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, has hit major cities and regional towns alike. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission confirmed it is monitoring the situation closely as prices at remaining stations surged past $2.50 per litre in some areas.
The crisis has been most acute in New South Wales and Queensland, where the NRMA reported more than 300 service stations without unleaded petrol by Saturday morning. Diesel supplies have also been affected, raising concerns for freight operators and farmers who rely on the fuel for transport and machinery. The national average price for unleaded petrol climbed to $2.38 per litre on Thursday, up from $1.89 just four weeks ago, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Australia imports roughly 90 per cent of its refined fuel, a vulnerability that successive governments have acknowledged but failed to adequately address. The country holds just 28 days of petroleum reserves, well below the 90-day minimum recommended by the International Energy Agency. Previous reviews, including the 2020 Liquid Fuel Security Review, called for greater domestic refining capacity and larger strategic stockpiles, but investment in new refining infrastructure has been minimal since the closure of four of Australia's eight refineries over the past decade.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the National Cabinet on Friday to coordinate the federal response, describing the situation as serious but manageable. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the government was working with international partners to secure additional cargo shipments from Singapore and South Korea within the next fortnight. The Australian Automobile Association called for an immediate release of emergency fuel reserves, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused the government of failing to act on longstanding warnings about supply chain fragility.
Federal officials expect the first emergency fuel shipments to arrive at Australian ports by mid-April, though logistical bottlenecks at refineries in Southeast Asia could delay deliveries further. The government is also considering temporary price caps to prevent gouging at the bowser, a measure that state premiers in New South Wales and Victoria have publicly supported. The shortage is expected to have a measurable impact on second-quarter economic activity, with Treasury estimating a drag of up to 0.2 percentage points on GDP growth if disruptions persist beyond April.