Australia news live: government ad campaign urges drivers to minimise fuel use as supply crisis persists | Australian politics
Government advertising campaign encourages drivers to minimize fuel use
The Australian government is launching a new advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimize fuel use amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The TV, digital and billboard campaign, which will start airing on Monday, is called “Every little bit helps” and is part of level two of the government’s four-tier fuel security plan.
Communication from the government overnight describes the plan as “a practical guide aimed at managing fuel supply chain pressures caused by conflict in the Middle East”, with a second level titled “Mobilising Australia”:
… It sets the stage for Australians to figure out what to do now as their fuel supplies run out. It also signals that instructions will be transmitted if we move to future levels.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Catherine KingHe said in his statement:
This campaign will help communicate the Government’s plan to the public and outline what actions can be taken to help.
Global fuel shortages affect us all, and every little bit helps. From running errands with fewer trips to filling up with only the fuel you need, this will help us keep essential services running.
The rollout of this campaign and the National Fuel Security Plan ensures we can get the public the information they need and keep them updated when the situation changes.
important events
The wife of a 65-year-old man shot dead on his farm and buried in a shallow grave said she was in shock as police appealed for information about the man’s murder, AAP reported.
Confirmed last sighting of 65-year-old Richard Wills It was taken last Sunday, April 5, as he left his home in Ouyen, in Victoria’s north-west.
His body was found Tuesday, two days after he failed to return home.
Police said Wills went to work at his rural property on Victoria’s Mallee Highway at around 8am as part of his normal routine. However, he did not show up for lunch, causing family members to search the 650-hectare joint crop and livestock farm in vain.
His wife of 32 years, Donna, reported him missing when he still hadn’t returned Monday morning. Wills’ body was found during a police search at around 1.30pm the following afternoon. He had been fatally shot.
On Saturday, Wills said, her good-hearted, workaholic husband woke up, ate breakfast and left the house while she was still in bed.
He told reporters during a request for information in Ouyen on Saturday:
He kissed me goodbye. I thought I’d see him at lunch.
When he didn’t return that night, he thought he might have gone for a drive with a friend and his tires were damaged or flat.
Why would they want to do this to him?
Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Trewavas An official with the Missing Persons Squad said Wills clearly committed foul play and there was evidence he was dragged behind a vehicle.
What is still unclear is exactly who was involved and why. This is a brutal murder.
Police suspect Wills knew the person who killed him. Anyone who saw the father of five on April 5 or has information about his death is asked to come forward.
Electric vehicle users currently do not pay fuel taxes. An alternative applied is the road user charge; King He said his department was investigating what a road user charge might look like, but the government was determined not to discourage the uptake of electric vehicles.
He said:
Within my department we are working on a model of what the road user charge might look like. This is no surprise to anyone. This was in the mid-fiscal year outlook. My department has been working on this since December.
Frankly, we are currently trying to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles as much as we can. We don’t want to discourage that. So there is a balance to be struck between the benefit and tax potential of charging road users. But we are trying to overcome this.
King did not mention the future of the fringe benefit tax exemption that currently benefits electric vehicle buyers, saying it was a budget issue.
King took a swipe at Nationals leader Matt Canavan as he talked about improving Australia’s resilience to energy shocks.
While we talk about the need for electrification as part of energy security, it is also part of our economic security. I find it really strange that Matt Canavan is trying to take us back to the 1990s or 1980s without understanding that the world has moved on. The world has made progress on energy security.
King also said the transition to electrification will require efficiency maneuvers for some sectors that are harder to electrify:
Where there are hard-to-reduce sectors that will take a little longer to electrify, such as aviation and some heavy transport, low-carbon liquid fuels. In our view, it’s crazy that we basically grow canola here, ship it overseas, turn it into sustainable aviation fuel, and then take it back. We should actually have that low-carbon liquid, renewable diesel. We should be able to produce this here.
King says Labor will consider additional cost of living aid in budget
Catherine King No information was given as to how long the federal government thinks the fuel crisis could continue, but it was stated that the government is open to considering other cost of living assistance for the public.
The king said:
Frankly, as we turn to the budget and where this will go in the coming months, we get more indication of whether additional measures are needed. Frankly, we will have tax cuts on July 1. However Whether additional measures are needed for households and businesses – these are all things we consider as part of the budget process.
King says government provides fuel information ‘as quickly as possible’
Asked by Insiders host: David SpeersKing said the upcoming “Every little bit helps” ad campaign is a good use of taxpayers’ money in this crisis:
I think what the government is trying to do is provide people with as much information as possible. There’s understandably a lot of anxiety and a lot of uncertainty in society because of what’s happening in this global conflict that we’re dealing with.
And I think people want to be informed. And of course, they get this information from a variety of sources, whether it’s the media or social media.
So the government is setting up a communication platform to get this information to people as quickly as possible to deal with a global fuel crisis, as I said.
King says fuel crisis could continue after conflicts in Middle East
Federal Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Catherine KingWarnings were renewed this morning that the fuel crisis could continue long after any conflict in the Middle East has ended.
Speaking to ABC’s Insiders, King said the ceasefire in the Middle East was currently “fragile” and the government hoped it would hold, given the Strait of Hormuz “has proven to be quite critical for global fuel supplies and also for global economies.”
The king said:
We hope diplomacy will work. This is a fragile ceasefire. This is our best chance. Even if this is the case, what we need to prepare for here as a country is that even if the strait is opened tomorrow, it will have a long tail.
We don’t know how much damage has been done to the infrastructure. We don’t know how quickly shipping can get back to normal… So we really have to plan to make sure we understand this has a long tail.
We are doing everything we can to support fuel supply, deal with distribution problems, and mitigate the impact of global fuel price increases. We are not parties to the decisions taken, but we have to deal with them.
Bowen says it will take a long time to recover from fuel crisis
Federal Minister of Energy, Chris BowenEven if the US-Israeli war against Iran were to end tomorrow, fuel shortages would have a “long tail,” he warned.
He told reporters on Saturday:
Even if it opens today, there is a huge pile-up on ships, gas facilities have been bombed and destroyed.
It will take a long time for the international energy situation to recover from this situation. This isn’t over yet.
Guardian Australia Josh Butler was in singapore Anthony AlbaneseWhile the Prime Minister won’t be returning from Singapore with a boatload of diesel in his trunk, he said that doesn’t mean his tip-off visit isn’t successful or that it won’t be seen as a pivotal moment in the future if fuel stocks continue to be overwhelmed by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Read his full analysis here:
Government advertising campaign encourages drivers to minimize fuel use
The Australian government is launching a new advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimize fuel use amid the global crisis caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The TV, digital and billboard campaign, which will start airing on Monday, is called “Every little bit helps” and is part of level two of the government’s four-tier fuel security plan.
Communication from the government overnight describes the plan as “a practical guide aimed at managing fuel supply chain pressures caused by conflict in the Middle East”, with a second level titled “Mobilising Australia”:
… It sets the stage for Australians to figure out what to do now as their fuel supplies run out. It also signals that instructions will be transmitted if we move to future levels.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Catherine KingHe said in his statement:
This campaign will help communicate the Government’s plan to the public and outline what actions can be taken to help.
Global fuel shortages affect us all, and every little bit helps. From running errands with fewer trips to filling up with only the fuel you need, this will help us keep essential services running.
The rollout of this campaign and the National Fuel Security Plan ensures we can get the public the information they need and keep them updated when the situation changes.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the Australian live news blog for Sunday 12 April. My name is Stephanie Convery and I will be with you until this afternoon.
First, the Australian government launched an advertising campaign to encourage the public to minimize fuel use amid shortages caused by disruption in the global supply chain.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Catherine KingHe said the campaign “will help communicate the government’s plan to the public and outline what actions can be taken to help”. More on this in a moment.
And when he was prime minister, Anthony AlbaneseThe Federal Energy Minister said he signed an agreement with Singapore to maintain mutual fuel supplies between the countries. Chris BowenHe warned that even if the conflict in the Middle East were to end soon, disruptions to fuel supplies would have a “long tail”.
Grab yourself a coffee and let’s get stuck into it.
