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The number of Queensland petrol stations running out of fuel has increased as the state government doubles down on demands for a national dashboard to monitor supply in real time.
On Friday morning, 64 stations across the state were out of diesel and 36 had no unleaded fuel – an increase of nine and three in 24 hours respectively – as the supply crunch triggered by the war in the Middle East intensifies for Australian consumers.
Outages in Queensland have grown steadily this week after the number of stations without diesel rose to 33 on Wednesday and 21 without unleaded, while the price of diesel soared beyond $3 a litre at a growing number of outlets.
Despite the escalating crisis, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said fuel supplies remained secure in the near term and dismissed calls from the federal opposition to slash the fuel excise and road user charges.
“The government has been clear that the longer this war goes on, the greater the impact will be,” he told reporters in Canberra at a snap press conference to address the fuel crisis.
“Our government is undertaking every practical measure required to shield our nation from the worst of the global uncertainty which is out there.”
The federal government also cast aside calls from Queensland for a national dashboard, saying real-time outages and pricing information was already available through sites such as RACQ’s.
Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the state would lobby the Commonwealth for the dashboard when national cabinet meets on Monday.
The state Labor opposition has called on the Crisafulli government to introduce its own measures to ensure fuel security, as the Tasmanian government has done through laws to cap the price of petrol and extend emergency restrictions.
But Janetzki stood firm on the state’s position to leave the management of the fuel crisis to the federal government to ensure a nationally co-ordinated approach.
“This is a national challenge that requires a national solution, and that is why today we’ve said to make sure that there is transparency, consistency, standardisation and co-ordination, it has to come through the national government, it has to be a national framework,” the treasurer said.
“What’s important is that we have clarity and visibility on supply lines, on blockages in the supply system, in the logistics chain.”
Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called on Albanese to halve the 52 cents per litre fuel excise for three months.
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James Hall is the News Director at the Brisbane Times. He is the former Queensland correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and has reported for a range of mastheads across the country, specialising on political and finance reporting.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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