Frank
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Post by Frank on Dec 9, 2015 9:17:51 GMT 10
This has been an issue for a long time and needs to addressed and rectified as soon as possible
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/fuel/7012166
Dwindling fuel supplies putting Australia's security at risk, Liberal senator Bill Heffernan warns
By political reporter Jane Norman
Liberal senator Bill Heffernan has warned Australia's security is being put at risk because of its dwindling fuel supplies and is urging the Government to address the problem.
According to an International Energy Agency agreement, Australia is obliged to have at least 90 days of fuel in storage, but its reserves have fallen below 50 days in recent years following a wave of refinery closures.
The issue was recently investigated by a Senate Committee which noted Australia had become a major importer of transport fuels, leaving it vulnerable to disruptions in supply.
Senator Heffernan was on that committee and said he had recently had further discussions with senior Defence Force officials who have described it as the "greatest military threat" facing the nation.
"It's been identified as a serious problem not only for fuel supply for general operations but when the military tells you it's our greatest military threat, it's time to get off our backsides and do something about it," he said.
"If you think like the enemy, all you would have to do is interfere with a couple of major tank loads coming from Singapore and we'd be in all sorts of trouble."
When the Government released its Energy White Paper in April, it promised a decision on how to deal with the oil reserve issue by the end of the year.
At the time, the then industry minister Ian Macfarlane said he was considering two options; building bigger tanks or buying supply contracts from other countries.
"Either option is extraordinarily expensive; we're talking billions and billions and billions of dollars," he told the ABC.
He said that cost would likely be passed on at the bowser, increasing petrol prices by up to 2 cents a litre.
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Post by Peter on Dec 9, 2015 9:52:34 GMT 10
"Either option is extraordinarily expensive; we're talking billions and billions and billions of dollars," he told the ABC.
He said that cost would likely be passed on at the bowser, increasing petrol prices by up to 2 cents a litre.
A small price to pay when one considers the millions of deaths that would result from the effects of transport disruption. This is one of the main reasons I started preparing. |
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Dec 9, 2015 9:55:25 GMT 10
Yep, not to long ago we had a supply problem when on of the main transport companies had there trucks taken off the road for a short time. It wasn't very long and it wasn't a huge issue at the time, slight inconvenience, but it did highlight how quickly and easily it would be for it all to grind to a halt and I reckon we can all guess how that would end up.......
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Dec 9, 2015 11:12:45 GMT 10
I like these kinds of things because I think to myself, am I squared away for fuel shortages? What if fuel was in such short supply that we didn't have transport for food? It's great being prepared, I sleep well.
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Dec 9, 2015 15:12:50 GMT 10
Would people complain about 2 cents a litre though? 2 dollars yes, but with prices being at the lowest in years, wouldn't it make sense to be stockpiling now?
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Post by Peter on Dec 9, 2015 16:18:25 GMT 10
Because it's a government project...
I understand the cost of building storage facilities (there's probably a billion in red tape), but you're right - one would think supply contracts would increase our bargaining power, ultimately leading to more stable or perhaps even lower prices.
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Dec 9, 2015 17:47:44 GMT 10
actually it depends on how many barrels the 20 day shortfall is...
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Post by graynomad on Dec 9, 2015 20:00:15 GMT 10
2 cents a liter is nothing, heck the price fluctuates more than that every day.
I store quite a lot of fuel but really, if things go to shite I don't plan to travel much so probably don't need much.
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Dec 9, 2015 22:47:15 GMT 10
but seriously. the engines that can run on biodiesel or even cooking oil would be best. have a mate here who has a pickup that can run on cooking oil. One of them non-Euro IV engined vehicles. He's stocking up on _expired_ cooking oil.
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Dec 10, 2015 1:42:55 GMT 10
Because it's a government project... .. enough said. |
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Morgo
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Post by Morgo on Dec 12, 2015 14:35:18 GMT 10
Who would even notice a 2c price increase these days anyway? A decade ago sure, prices were more consistent, these days not so much as they seem to rise and fall by 10c every time I look at the price.
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Matilda
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Post by Matilda on Dec 12, 2015 17:08:50 GMT 10
We had a day out yesterday and filled up in Robertson NSW. We paid $1.09 for E10 - we normally get unleaded but the sign said 94 so thought what we put in was the same as we usually get. We drove from Robertson to Bowral a distance of 25klms. The same fuel in Bowral was $1.52. I actually taxed our kids to tell them but noticed as we got closer to Sutherland - where we ended up - is was $1.37. And just now fuel is $35.36, a $1.30 odd cheaper than yesterday. Our $ has been around $0.72 for months so this palaver about ' cycle going down or up is rubbish'. The government is ripping us off. NB. If you decide to store at the cheaper rates, don't forget STA-BIL.
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Dec 12, 2015 18:06:29 GMT 10
It's not just the oil that is cheap at the moment though -- all the other materials needed (not to mention the workforce) for construction of the tanks are also much cheaper than before. This would be a perfect project for the government to put in place now as a small-scale stimulus. Hell, they could even use that fuel tax they keep putting up to cover the costs.
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Matilda
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Post by Matilda on Dec 12, 2015 20:19:16 GMT 10
Didn't get to stop frostbite - always a crowd there though. Must stop there one day.  . Awful long time to be sitting in a car in yesterday's heat. |
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Post by Joey on Dec 12, 2015 22:09:21 GMT 10
Drove into Mackay today, filled up before leaving my town in morning, diesel at 1.19, on way home Mackay 1 servo had diesel at 1.37 the one across the road to it was 1.25 and the next one was 1.22 all within a km of each other, and this is Mackay where the stuff is unloaded at the port, where every 15mins a 20,000L tanker truck leaves headed towards the mines. So no excuse to dump "transport" costs on it when my town 200km from Mackay has the cheapest out of all of them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2015 6:02:52 GMT 10
Australia has enough light crude to supply us for hundreds of years. Hundred of wells in Australia just capped off, and that was drilled in the 60/70'ts.
But manufacturing needs heavy crude to make plastics and such!
We buy fuel to be parity partners with the US etc...
We need to shut our boarders, keep all we export and have cheap fuel, power and food for the people not profits for the conglomerates!!! The government needs to work for the people not for BIG Business. F..k the world, lets start looking after Australians first! They don't give a shit about us, and our pollies need to get off there knee's and stop kissing ass and work for the people of Australia. We could be a world power if we stopped giving away what we have so pollies can big not themselves!!!
They work for us!!!!
Ok, my rant is over...
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