‘Never seen this’: fuel shortages hit farming towns
A small-town gas station owner says his business is facing the worst fuel shortage in more than 25 years.
Nathan Falvo was forced to ration his latest fuel delivery at his service station at Robinvale in Victoria’s north-west after being left completely without fuel over the weekend.
Mr. Falvo said the shortage had spread to the town’s other two stations, which also imposed a $50 sales limit.
“The whole town, one of Australia’s fruit bowls, was out of fuel,” Mr Falvo told AAP on Monday morning.
“I’ve been in this business for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like this happen before. All three stations were out of action.”
The conflict in the Middle East has caused major disruptions in fuel supplies, causing unleaded petrol prices in Australia to rise to over $2.20 per liter and diesel prices to more than $2.60 per litre.
This comes after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil corridors, following an attack by US and Israeli forces.
The federal government announced on Friday that up to 762 million liters of gasoline and diesel could be released from companies’ emergency reserves to address shortages.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly reassured Australia has enough fuel and said the shortage was due to people hoarding.
The famine had a major impact on the Robinvale community, which was largely made up of farmers and primary producers who depended on vehicles and machinery to operate.
Customers have been understanding, Mr. Falvo added, although this has been difficult in an area where many people rely on gas-powered cars to get to and from work.
“Some of these workers travel more than 100 km per day round trip to and from work,” he said.
“We don’t have trains, trams or public transport here… I heard that because of this (shortage) they are turning to electric vehicles and it is not possible.”
Several other towns, including Wedderburn and Bonnie Doon, also ran out of fuel over the weekend, according to Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Brett Hocking.
“They’re definitely under pressure and that’s quite prevalent in rural Victoria,” he told AAP.
Fuel deliveries to farms were also affected, with some farmers facing a two-week wait.
“It’s a bit of a supply and demand issue, demand is definitely increasing in rural areas and farms,” Mr Hocking said.
“Melbourne service stations are also seeing unprecedented demand here, placing constraints on the availability of trucks that can deliver fuel to rural areas.”
Premier Chris Minns told reporters on Monday regional communities in NSW were also reporting fuel shortages.
The NSW government will hold a fuel safety roundtable in the coming hours with representatives from transport and logistics, fuels, agriculture, local government, mining, unions and consumer protection groups.
“It’s harder to restock those gas stations (in regional areas) if they get more than expected from bowsers on any given day,” he said.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been contacted for comment.
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