The Morrison Government is taking action to secure Australia\u2019s long-term fuel supply, keep prices low for consumers and create over 1000 new jobs with a $211 million investment in building new domestic fuel storage and backing local refineries to stay open wherever commercially possible.
\nAs part of our 2020-21 Budget, the Government will enhance Australia\u2019s fuel security and bolster local industry through a $211 million investment in new domestic diesel storage facilities, reforms to create a minimum onshore stockholding, and measures to support local refineries.
\nThis will be delivered through a combined market and regulatory framework, with three key elements:<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia\u2019s fuel security was essential for our national security and that we had been fortunate to not have experienced a significant fuel supply shock in over 40 years.
\n\u201cOur positive changes to the fuel market will ensure Australian families and businesses can access the fuel they need, when they need it, for the lowest possible price,\u201d the Prime Minister said.
\n\u201cFuel security underpins our entire economy. Not only does it keep Australia moving, the industry supports thousands of people across the country and this plan is also about helping keep them in work.
\n\u201cLike all sectors of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on Australia\u2019s fuel industry. The events of 2020 have reminded us that we cannot be complacent. We need a sovereign fuel supply to shield us from potential shocks in the future.\u201d
\nMinister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Government recognised that Australian refineries are under significant financial pressure and is committed to working with the sector to ensure it has a long-term future.
\n\u201cAlmost all Australians are reliant on fuel and it is the lifeblood of so many sectors in our economy. Our farmers and miners rely heavily on diesel to do their jobs and provide services, while the transport sector sources 98 per cent of its energy from liquid fuels,\u201d Minister Taylor said.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why it is critical that Australia has control over its fuel security arrangements and the Government is making sure of that.\u201d
\nThe construction of diesel storage will not only secure our diesel supplies but will support up to 950 jobs, along with 75 new ongoing jobs, many in regional areas.
\nA minimum stockholding obligation will act as a safety net for petrol and jet fuel stocks, and increasing diesel stockholdings by 40 per cent.
\nThe Government will work with industry over the next six months on the legislative and regulatory design of the package.
\nRefineries play an important role in securing Australia\u2019s fuel security and putting downward pressure on fuel prices for consumers. Modelling has shown that a domestic refinery capability is worth around $4.9 billion (over 10 years) in value to Australian consumers in the form of price suppression.
\nThe Government is committed to a sovereign on-shore refinery capacity despite the threat to the viability of the industry. This is why we will design a market system for a production payment that recognises those fuel security benefits. It has been designed to protect Australian families and businesses from the around 1 cent per litre increase that modelling shows will hit fuel if all refineries close in Australia. For refineries to receive support, they will be required to commit to stay operating in Australia.
\nThe Government recognises that the future refining sector in Australia will not look like the past. However, this framework will protect Australian families and businesses from higher prices and will secure jobs in the fuel sector and in fuel-dependent industries, such as our farmers, truckers, miners and tradies.
\nAdditional measures will also be introduced to reduce the burden on industry and improve fuel market information.
\nThis includes modernising the online fuel reporting system to make it easier for industry to report stock levels to Government and improve the timeliness of data. The Government will also remove the application fees for fuel standard variation requests.
\nThis domestically-focused package builds on Government action to purchase up to $94 million of crude oil at record low global prices to be stored in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve for access during a global emergency.
\nSupporting our refineries will ensure Australia has the sovereign capability it needs for any event, protect families and businesses from higher prices and support thousands of jobs across the economy as we recover from COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Morrison Government is taking action to secure Australia\u2019s long-term fuel supply, keep prices low for consumers and create over 1000 new jobs with a $211 million investment in building new domestic fuel storage and backing local refineries to stay open wherever commercially possible. As part of our 2020-21 Budget, the Government will enhance Australia\u2019s … Continue reading “Boosting Australia\u2019s Fuel Security”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}