Australia news live: Chris Bowen says petrol reserves won’t ease shortages straight away; RBA tipped to hike rates | Australia news
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energy minister, Chris BowenHe says it will take “some time” for the oil and diesel released from Australia’s domestic stocks to reach areas experiencing shortages.
On Friday, the Albanian government ordered fuel companies to release almost a fifth of reserve oil and diesel supplies. Dozens of service stations across the country have run out of gas as retailers struggle with customers’ panic buying in the face of skyrocketing prices due to conflict in the Middle East.
In an interview on ABC’s 7.30 last night, Bowen said the companies had assured the government that the freed up supply would reach regional areas:
It will take some time for it to flow. There is a very complex supply chain.
But it will have an impact. Some companies have said this will start to have some degree of impact in the coming days. But it will be some time before the full release.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I Martin Farrer One night with the best of stories and then it will be Nick Visser guiding you through the news day.
The economy and the cost of living will be one of the biggest stories today, when the Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates when it announces the outcome of its monetary policy meeting at 2.30pm. The main reason for this is permanent inflation, further fueled by rising oil prices due to the war.
Speaking of which, we have Chris Bowen Comments about impending fuel shortages – saying the country’s fuel reserves are being flooded into the market but this may not have an immediately obvious impact.
