‘Stop the panic’: national cabinet meet again on fuel
State and territory leaders will hold another national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis, but the prime minister insists Australia’s oil security level will not be increased.
Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will meet premiers and chief ministers in early May, a week before the federal budget is due to be handed out.
He said Wednesday that regular meetings of state and territory leaders were designed to address concerns rather than boost security measures.
“One of the reasons why we’re meeting again next week and why we met last week is to stop the panic,” he told the WA Minerals and Energy Chamber event in Perth.
“We will work on all these issues, but our goal is to do everything we can to keep the levels unchanged.”
Australia is currently in level two of the four-level scheme, which encourages precautionary measures to save fuel.
Moving up to level three will mean taking further measures to save on petrol and diesel.
Mr Albanese said any move towards higher levels of fuel security would be signaled well in advance, rather than being taken as a sudden decision at a national cabinet meeting.
“We know supplies were solid from May through June,” he said.
“That’s the point of having regular fortnightly meetings, so people don’t say ‘oh my god, there’s a national cabinet meeting’.”
The Prime Minister said he was confident that the country could emerge stronger from the fuel crisis.
“You will see further announcements regarding the supply of materials from our region in the coming days,” he said.
Mr Albanese is scheduled to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Canberra on Monday, where fuel and energy will be on the agenda.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is also preparing to meet with her Chinese counterpart on energy supply.
Australian motorists may be in for a pleasant surprise in bowser after the United Arab Emirates decided to leave the world’s largest oil cartel.
The Gulf country announced plans to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from the beginning of May.
OPEC is a group of oil-producing countries that coordinate production levels to maximize profits. It controls almost 80 percent of the world’s proven reserves and produces about 40 percent of global oil supply.
The UAE has long been upset with OPEC’s production limits and wanted to export more oil to the world.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP that the country’s decision to abandon bundling would likely lead to cheaper oil, but not until the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
“This gives the UAE the freedom to increase its production. They have significant reserves and can do this,” he said.
“This is a positive thing for Australian motorists because it will put downward pressure on global oil prices in the long term.”
The coalition has advocated for new energy policy that would force fuel companies to stock more gasoline and diesel, while also increasing fuel prices by about a cent per liter.
“We think that’s a reasonable premium to get another 30 days of storage,” National Leader Matt Canavan told Nine’s Today programme.
Senator Canavan said the coalition would also push to build a new refinery near Gladstone in Queensland to improve Australia’s fuel security.
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