Fuel firms forced to share data as city servos use caps

As fuel caps arrive at city petrol stations, fuel companies are being forced to share data on their supplies and sales in Australia’s most populous state.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe announced on Friday that notices requesting a wide range of information have been issued to fuel providers to help create a full view of NSW’s fuel supplies as the Middle East war continues.

The information will help the state government prepare to use emergency powers if necessary, the official said.

“We need a clear picture of the situation to best support people and communities as they overcome the challenges posed by this global conflict,” Ms Sharpe said in a statement.

Oil prices have risen rapidly since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

The new edict from NSW places limits on the amount of petrol people can buy from at least one metropolitan petrol station.

An employee at the Shell-branded service station on Sydney’s northern beaches confirmed to AAP that the outlet had imposed a 50-litre limit per person and banned the filling of bins.

The crisis may also be putting older people who rely on home care visits at risk.

Advocacy group Aging Australia said reports of aged care workers not attending home visiting shifts were becoming more common due to rising fuel prices.

Chief executive Tom Symondson said some aged care providers were reporting monthly fuel bills rising by more than half, leaving patients vulnerable.

“We want to avoid a repeat of the industry experience in the early days of Covid, when we saw hospitals and their staff being designated as essential services and aged care left to fend for itself,” Mr Symondson said.

The United Workers Union argues that fuel vouchers should be reimbursed by the federal government for home aged care workers who travel an average of 160 miles a week.

“Older Australians are at risk of losing the care they rely on every day,” said Catalina Gonzalez, the association’s director of aged care.

“If workers can’t afford the fuel they need to do their jobs, older Australians are missing out on medications, going without food, missing out on essential wound care and missing out on personal care.”

More than 500 service stations were out of fuel on Thursday but more petrol and diesel were flowing into the areas, Energy Minister Chris Bowen told parliament.

Iran is attacking regional energy infrastructure and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, forcing countries to respond to global fuel supply shortages.

The national cabinet will meet on Monday to discuss the ongoing fuel crisis.

The government has insisted Australia has enough fuel and that the shortage is due to panic buying seen during Covid-19 lockdowns.

But one expert says panic buying is being driven by different forces than those during the pandemic.

Tim Neal, who has researched panic buying on a broad scale, said behavior during the pandemic was primarily related to future supply concerns arising from lockdown disruptions.

“There are supply concerns with fuel prices, particularly when it comes to diesel,” Dr Neal told AAP.

“But initially it was the price impulse that started the panic buying. People are stockpiling because you expect price increases in the future.”

Dr Neal said spikes in demand could quickly outstrip supply, leading to temporary outages.

But he said it was too early to determine whether the shortages were due to supply disruptions or increased demand, although both factors likely played a role.

Efforts to prevent panic buying are often limited because the behavior is self-reinforcing, Dr Neal said.

“All you need for panic buying to be rational is to believe that other people will panic,” he said.

Tougher penalties for price gouging were passed by parliament on Thursday afternoon.

The Senate has given the green light to legislation doubling the maximum penalty for false, misleading or cartel conduct to $100 million, in a bid to prevent oil companies from profiting from the shortage.

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