Fuel Crisis

Farms Running Dry.

Chris Bowen told Parliament Australia is sitting on its strongest fuel reserves in fifteen years. Lachlan Marshall, a local dairy farmer, has six days of diesel left. His cows need milking. His corn needs cutting. His 2,500 head of cattle need feeding. In six days, none of that happens.

The fuel exists. Imports from Singapore have not stopped. But refineries are rationing independent distributors — the ones who supply regional Australia — to keep Shell and Caltex topped up on their contract volumes. Independent operators who buy on the spot market are being told to wait. Farmers do not have that luxury.

Diesel in Murray is set to hit three dollars a litre by tomorrow. Farmers have already stopped non-essential work. If seeding and harvest operations shut down, every Australian pays the price at the supermarket.

The Federal Government has the power to direct fair fuel allocation. Chris Bowen has the tools to act. He has chosen reassurance over action, quoting reserve statistics while regional fuel stations run dry.

“Is Chris Bowen going to come out to my property in his polished R. M. Williams boots and his spotless chino pants and help cut down 300 hectares of corn so I can feed my cows when I run out of fuel in six days?”

“And is he then going to run around my paddocks with a wheel barrow helping to feed that corn to 2,500 head of cattle because we can’t use our trucks? I don’t think so.” -Local dairy farmer Lachlan Marshall

Murray feeds this country. You cannot grow food without fuel. The Minister for Energy needs to stop managing headlines and start managing supply.