Dozens of Australian petrol stations run out of fuel as panic-buying continues | Transport
Dozens of service stations across Australia have run out of petrol as distributors struggle to keep up with customers’ panic buying as conflict in the Middle East continues to impact prices.
The NRMA has warned regulators are “missing” the chance to halt price rises as rising wholesale demand pushes fuel prices to “permanently high” levels on the east coast.
The New South Wales government said 32 of the state’s 3,000 service stations were out of at least one type of fuel on Monday morning, but that was enough to leave single-station towns in short supply.
Premier Chris Minns said there was enough fuel in NSW but drivers were struggling to distribute it across regions as they stocked up at local stations.
“It’s harder to refill those gas stations if they’re getting more than expected from the bowser on any given day,” he said.
Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Brett Hosking said entire towns were drying out, including Wedderburn and Bonnie Doon in the state’s center and Robinvale in the north-west.
“[Tankers] “You’ll find some fuel stations very close to Melbourne that need fuel and you’ll probably dump your truck there and come back to pick up another load,” he said.
“How do you guarantee that when you have 100,000 city drivers shouting ‘we need fuel too’? [tanker] “The truck will continue to pass them,” he said.
The federal government allowed fuel companies to temporarily sell low-quality gasoline and release about one-fifth of their mandatory stocks; regional Australia was given priority, but the possibility of fuel rationing was ruled out.
Hosking stated that he was not sure that companies would prioritize delivery to the regions, and called for the ration card to be taken into consideration, even if limiting purchases was difficult to implement.
In Western Australia, two service stations in the town of Manjimup began running dry on Friday, while industrial fuel suppliers’ sales were limited to 10,000 liters per customer, according to local district president Donelle Buegge.
“Independents [stations] “BP is doing well, but Dunning’s and United seem to be having difficulty getting fuel supplies,” Buegge said.
Regional and independent stations reported difficulties accessing fuel after suppliers Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy prioritized supplies to regular customers and disconnected small groups purchasing fuel on the spot market.
According to NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury, some independent suppliers have stopped offering fuel they can no longer afford as wholesale prices have risen and caught up with the recent retail price increase.
While retail prices for households and businesses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are set to remain at near-record highs, Khoury blamed this on stations that raised prices early in the conflict.
“We’re at a permanent high point right now in those three cities,” Khoury said.
“We missed an opportunity to address this behavior and at least ensure they maintain their prices.”
Unleaded petrol prices exceeded 230 cents per liter in Darwin on Friday and Melbourne on Sunday, and continued to approach that level in other capital cities, according to Informed Sources data.
Retailers in the city also faced shortages after a 7-Eleven in Canberra ran out of fuel over the weekend. Customers at the Holt store were told the shortage was due to sudden bulk buying, that restocking was continuing as planned and was expected Monday night.
Another 7-Eleven in Canberra Phillip is running low on stock and customers are saying it could run out of stock by Monday evening.
‘Serious dysfunction’
Calls for stronger intervention have grown as shortages affect more towns. The NSW government held crisis talks with fuel suppliers and key industries on Monday, with industry bodies agreeing to share more information with the government so fuel can get to where it’s needed most.
Attending the roundtable on Monday, NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said food production was at risk due to “serious dysfunction” that was leaving farmers, villages and towns without fuel.
“Tractors and trucks run on diesel, not gasoline, and there is a big focus on gasoline… these combines need thousands of liters a day.”
Swan Hill rural council chairman Stuart King said Robinvale was full of temporary workers traveling up to 100km a day to reach farms for the wine grape and almond harvest season.
“If you don’t have fuel, it can run out very quickly, which means you can’t get to work,” King said.
King said the shortage had spread to other small towns, with stations in the regional town of Swan Hill preventing people from filling jerrycans or mobile fuel tanks.
King called for the fuel tax to be cut as in 2022, saying prices in his district increased by 30% in two weeks. He said he had heard from locals who had postponed trips to visit family in Melbourne and had to drop out of the town’s major winter sports leagues.
“I talked to some young people over the weekend and they say… ‘I don’t think I can afford the travel expenses and that’s where I am anyway, so I might as well work on Saturdays instead of working out,'” King said.
“This then becomes a cumulative impact on the well-being of the community.”
Rising prices are projected to have the biggest impact on the lowest-income households, which spend about 10% of their income on oil, according to e61 Institute analysis.
However, the fuel excise tax cut would deliver greater benefits to higher-income households, which buy almost twice as much as the lowest-income fifth of Australians but are more insulated from higher prices. The federal government also rejected consumption tax changes.
