WA to declare state of emergency over fuel crisis
Updated ,first published
The WA government will declare a state of emergency to give Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson extraordinary powers to force fuel suppliers to disclose sensitive information about fuel stocks and distribution.
Prime Minister Roger Cook and Sanderson went to Government House on Wednesday to demand Western Australian Governor Chris Dawson declare a ‘state of emergency’. Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act.
Cook disregarded the terminology of the law and said that this was not like the state of emergency declared during Covid-19.
Parliament will reconvene on April 14, in the middle of a 6-week break, to activate emergency powers.
On Friday, Cook wrote a letter to suppliers including BP, Viva and Ampol, urging them to share information they have sent fuel to since the start of the Iran war, including their total fuel stocks and the contracts they signed through June.
The deadline for that information was Tuesday, and Cook said they didn’t get all the information they needed.
“We have been very successful, fuel is flowing to places where we had shortages. But challenges remain. Especially in the Goldfields and Wheat Belt,” he said.
“Unfortunately, our efforts are hampered by a lack of full visibility of the fuel supply chain.
“We’re not getting the full transparency we need.”
Three of the six companies that received the letter did not officially respond.
Cook said some companies had received legal advice that they could not provide this information, and that advice would be overridden by the extra powers coming into force.
The government will use this information to better direct fuel to the areas it needs to go.
Sanderson said serious fines of up to $100,000 per day will be imposed if companies do not comply with the rules.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch has previously detailed what the situation would look like in WA if the fuel crisis worsened to an emergency level, requiring households to ration fuel.
Speaking ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s rare national address at 4pm WST, where he is expected to announce the progress of the national fuel security plan, Blanch emphasized: ABC Perth There was no need to panic.
Blanch’s powers as WA’s Emergency Coordinator are not yet needed and he said they would only be called upon if the situation caused harm to people.
But he explained that plans are already in place to deal with such situations.
“[The plan considers] What is the most important thing for all of us? “Emergency services, critical infrastructure, power… I think that’s the key for people to continue to have housing, electricity and food,” he said.
“Rationation then talks about who needs it [fuel] when and how often can you take it and it may depend on a license plate or names… we do this for water [sprinklers].”
Blanch said he acknowledged there was a high level of concern in society about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East and encouraged people to be kind to each other.
“I want to be clear, now is not the time to panic, it’s time to stay calm because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the Middle East, all we do as an emergency service… it’s just about preparing to make sure we’re ready, because the community will expect that if things get worse, we have a plan in place,” he said.
“People need to be good, kind and generous, and take care of their neighbors and citizens.
“We don’t want the toilet paper debacle of COVID. We just want our community to be responsive when the levels of the Emergency Management Act and other actions are raised, if that’s what it is.”
As of the beginning of this week, WA adopted the national fuel security plan system, which is currently at level two.
The second level indicates that the fuel supply is good but there are local outages.
The second level means consumers buy only the fuel they need and make voluntary choices to use less fuel to avoid higher fuel prices, according to the Prime Minister’s website.
At the state level, he urged state governments to use laws to obtain information and data from fuel importers and distributors, improve transportation efficiency, and monitor and report fuel station supplies.
The third level suggests that ongoing fuel supplies will be disrupted and governments will call for fuel use to be reduced to ensure major industries can continue operating.
This includes a directive that all state governments seek practical measures to help reduce fuel use.
At the state level, this could mean trucks could run longer and laws could be put in place to secure supply at service stations.
Level four is the highest level in the plan and will include rationing called “prioritisation of fuel supplies”.
On Monday Prime Minister Roger Cook said there was no desire to impose Covid-era restrictions on Australians and there was no need to do so at level two.
“If we need to move to level three, an approach will be developed by the national cabinet that provides incentives and mechanisms to encourage other voluntary measures,” he said.
“We will not be considering any mandatory demand management response until we reach level four and we are all hopeful that we will not reach that point, but if we do it will be as part of a plan to be considered by National Cabinet.”
Asked on Monday what would enable the country to progress to the next stage of the plan, Cook said: “You would need to see significant reductions in both reserves and expected fuel supply chains.”
“You would have to see a situation where we’re significantly challenged in terms of the fuel supply outlook. We’re not there.”
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Hamish Hastie is WAtoday’s state political correspondent and the winner of five WA Media Awards, including the 2023 Beck Award for best political journalism.Connect with: X or email.
