NARELLE GRAHAM, HOST: First today – well, Federal Government ministers held an urgent roundtable today about Australia’s fuel supply situation. Ministers Chris Bowen, Julie Collins and Tim Ayres met with the National Farmers Federation, also with oil companies, peak groups and Trucking Australia.

Earlier today – and this is actually from yesterday – but Chris Bowen again reiterated this today – he was assuring Australians that our diesel and petrol supplies remain at this point secure. Here’s what he said yesterday:

[Excerpt]

CHRIS BOWEN: The fundamentals are good in that Australia has a good supply and, importantly, speaking to the industry this morning, have confirmed that every single expected delivery of petrol, diesel and jet fuel has arrived on time, on schedule, as expected.

[Excerpt ends]

HOST: Minister for Industry and Innovation of Australia, Labor Senator Tim Ayres, was also part of that roundtable that was held earlier today. Minister, good afternoon.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: G’day, Narelle. Really good to be on the show.

HOST: Nice to speak with you again. How much fuel does Australia have in reserve?

AYRES: Well, in the three categories of fuel that matter, we have 36 days of petrol, so that’s 1.56 billion litres of petrol. In jet fuel terms, 29 days or 802 million litres of jet fuel. And diesel – which will be important for a lot of your listening audience – 32 days of diesel, about 2.97 billion litres of diesel are held either onshore or within our exclusive economic zone. Roughly 80 per cent onshore. There’s a small amount circulating between our capital cities on the water. Those numbers have not fundamentally changed since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East. So, in your introduction you played Chris discussing the consultations that he’s been holding over the course of the conflict with our petroleum sector. Nothing has changed in terms of boat arrivals or the behaviour of ships that are on their way to Australian ports. So, there is – we have the fuel reserves in the strongest position that they have been in for 15 years. So we are well prepared for these global events, as unwelcome as they are.

HOST: Why do we, then, have petrol stations in regional areas that have run out of fuel? We’ve seen posts over the weekend on social media about petrol stations in Naracoorte and we had a petrol station in Karronda speak with my colleagues on Adelaide Drive yesterday saying we have run out of fuel. If we’ve got fuel in reserve in Australia, why are they running out?

AYRES: Well, I think that’s absolutely consistent with the reports that we are getting here in Canberra and that MPs, you know, Labor MPs and senators around the country are reporting to us. At a system level there is sufficient fuel, and there hasn’t been a reduction in our fuel stocks since the war in the Middle East began. There is some different consumer behaviour around the place, and there are differential regional impacts of that. So, there’s been a spike in demand. Some facilities reporting a very significant spike in demand.

Can I just say to your listeners who are either retail customers at petrol stations or, you know, farmers who are making purchases of fuel in the lead-up to planting, that there is absolutely no reason for a different approach to purchases than there has been. And, in fact, elevated demand in one area can have a knock-on negative effect in others. We’re just saying to people at a systemic level everything is the same as it was. We are working hard, as you reported on the way in to this discussion. We held a roundtable of the fertiliser, fuel and farming sector just a few hours ago. That will be an ongoing process. Australians at that level working together to make sure that we are delivering for customers and, in particular, for regional customers.

HOST: Okay. So, really the reason that some of the petrol stations are running out is because people are panic buying?

AYRES: Well, I wouldn’t describe it that way. But there’s spikes in demand in some areas. People have made different decisions to what they would normally make.

HOST: Yep.

AYRES: And, of course, the large retailers are sometimes in a different position to the smaller independent retailers. This is a global conflict. It’s not an opportunity for profiteering, and it’s an opportunity for Australians to pull together and act in a careful and sensible way. And as I’ve indicated earlier, there is no reason for customers, whether they be business or households, to behave in any different way to what they normally would. Our Minimum Stockholding Obligations are almost exactly the same as they were. And there’s been some pretty mischievous stuff online and some untrue claims made by political figures and by commentators in newspapers that we are carefully refuting because it’s not in the national interest to spread misinformation about what is occurring here. It’s an unwanted position, this war in the Middle East, of course.

HOST: Certainly.

AYRES: No one likes to see conflict, and it does have consequences, but Australia is in a much stronger position than it has been for more than 15 years.

HOST: Tim Ayres is on your radio, Minister for Industry and Innovation of Australia and a Labor Senator representing Queensland. Have there been any –

AYRES: No, no, no, New South Wales.

HOST: New South Wales.

AYRES: I reckon my –

HOST: Not making you a crazy Queenslander.

AYRES: I love Queensland, for any of your listeners who are in Queensland –

HOST: That was very diplomatic.

AYRES: But when State of Origin comes along, I am absolutely resolute.

HOST: So, have there been any expected fuel deliveries to Australia that have not arrived?

AYRES: No. The minister reported this morning, and consistent with the industry roundtable that I attended with the farming sector and the petroleum sector and the fertiliser sector, shipments have been arriving as expected. We’re obviously watching that very closely.

HOST: Yeah.

AYRES: Under the previous government four out of our six refineries closed, and it was for us as a newly elected Albanese Government to implement the Minimum Stockholding Obligation. The previous minister, Mr Taylor, who’s now the Opposition Leader, had a fuel reserve plan that involved locating our reserves in Texas. Our reserves are located, under the Albanese Government, in Australia, and there are several billion litres of fuel in each of these categories that are above our minimum stockholding obligations held now.

HOST: Do you think, Minister, that there will be any – is fuel rationing likely?

AYRES: I – well, on the basis of what I’ve just said to you, we’re very confident that at a national level we’ve got the domestic fuel stocks that are required. And we are not –

HOST: What else did you discuss today?

AYRES: Well, we discussed – certainly there was a very good discussion about fertiliser and the availability of fertiliser. Again, in much the same position where I’m very pleased to report that the Albanese Government’s intervention into the Mount Isa Mines and the Glencore mine in Mount Isa – fertiliser made by Dyno Nobel there that provides a very significant part of Australia’s fertiliser production is our only fertiliser producer and it provides a significant part of our consumption, that that was successfully purchased just yesterday. So, our broader Future Made in Australia agenda about economic resilience and strategic resilience for Australian industry, including the farming sector, is paying dividends there.

HOST: Okay.

AYRES: We are determined to build resilience, and everything that we have done in energy and in industry has been about building Australia’s [indistinct] dealing with crises just like this one.

HOST: And what other levers can the Government pull, particularly on the fertiliser front? Because, as you’ve said, you’ve got Mount Isa, but there is a shortage, and a lot of fertiliser that comes to Australia comes here from overseas suppliers. Is there any other – are there any other levers that the government can pull that may be were discussed at this roundtable today?

AYRES: Well, the feedback that we’re getting from the sector is that fertiliser is available for the coming months for Australian farmers, particularly going into the planting season in March and April. That is a very strong feedback and assurance that we’ve had. Obviously, there is a lot of work going on under the bonnet here to identify future sources of fertiliser and work with our suppliers in a detailed way to make sure that supplies continue.

HOST: And as we’ve been talking, Minister, we have just received news that David Littleproud has resigned as the leader of the National Party. He’s made the announcement at a press conference just now. Do you have a response?

AYRES: Well, I wish David and his family the very best for the future. It’s a tough thing to be in political leadership positions in Australia, and I’m not sure what David’s intentions are. But, of course, I wish him the very best. We’re seeing more broadly in conservative politics between the Liberals and Nationals a real focus on their own internals and a tendency to go towards political partisanship and division when there’s national challenges rather than providing a calm, resolute leadership that Australians expect. And, you know, I wish that would change. I have sharp political differences with Mr Littleproud, but I really do wish him and his family the very best for the future.

HOST: Minister Tim Ayres, thank you. We appreciate the update, and I know that the Senate is about to sit, and so your time is limited. But I appreciate you being able to fill us in on what is going on this afternoon. That is the Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation of Australia, Labor Senator Tim Ayres.

ENDS.