West Australia Diesel Stockpile Being Considered By Government Due To Concern On Fuel Shortage

The West Australia government is considering creating its own “strategic stockpile” of diesel, saying the state’s size and the reliance of the agriculture and resources industries on the fuel warrants a separate reserve.

The federal government already requires fuel retailers to hold a minimum of around four weeks reserve of both petrol and diesel, to be released at the Commonwealth’s discretion to shore up supply. But West Australia Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said this system had not been working optimally for her state as the war in Iran put pressure on stocks across the nation.

The fuel transport network already has the capacity to distribute the additional diesel, Ms Sanderson said, and smaller distribution operators like independent truck drivers would become key to servicing the Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions.

West Australia Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas referred to the government’s inability to prepare for fuel shortages as a “glaring void”, and is pleased to see the federal government turning their attention to it, but also notes that there was “very little detail” in the proposal.