Australia’s Fuel Crisis Didn’t Happen Overnight, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party's Post
The Maritime Union of Australia released a statement this week warning that Australia's fuel security crisis has been exposed by the escalating conflict in the Middle East and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Their warning should be taken seriously, because the reality is that Australia has been drifting into this crisis for years.
These calls were also made by One Nation's Barnaby Joyce this week.
As the union stated, "This is not a distant geopolitical drama but a direct threat to Australian workers, families and industries." When a fifth of the world's oil moves through a single maritime corridor and that corridor is threatened by war, the consequences are immediate. Fuel prices surge, supply chains tighten and countries that have failed to prepare suddenly discover how exposed they are.
Australia is now one of those countries.
The Maritime Union put it bluntly: "Australia is an energy exporting nation. It is indefensible that we cannot guarantee our own fuel supply." That statement cuts straight to the heart of the problem. Australia sits on enormous energy resources, yet we have allowed ourselves to become dangerously dependent on overseas fuel supplies.
This situation did not happen by accident. As the union notes, "For decades, successive governments have allowed our domestic fuel capacity to be dismantled." They are correct. Over many years refinery after refinery closed while governments stood by and allowed the country's refining capacity to collapse.
Much of this happened under Liberal governments, and it must be said plainly. The Liberals spent years talking about economic management while implementing many of the same policies pushed by Labor and the Greens. Instead of defending domestic energy capacity, they allowed it to disappear. Instead of strengthening Australia's fuel security, they weakened it.
One of the most absurd outcomes of this policy failure was the decision to effectively offshore Australia's strategic fuel reserves. As the Maritime Union pointed out, "Australia's strategic fuel reserves were effectively offshored, with public money spent storing fuel overseas rather than building sovereign stockpiles at home."
For a country as large and resource-rich as Australia, that decision is nothing short of extraordinary. Rather than investing in our own fuel security, governments chose to rely on fuel stored in other countries and shipped through some of the most hostile waters in the world.
Labor has now been in government for four years. That is more than enough time to recognise the danger and begin repairing the damage. Yet very little has changed. There has been no serious rebuilding of refining capacity and no decisive effort to dramatically expand Australia's sovereign fuel reserves.
The Maritime Union warns that Australia now depends on "foreign refineries, foreign-owned tankers and shipping lanes that run through contested waters." That dependency is not just an economic issue. It is a national security risk.
Fuel sovereignty is not an abstract policy concept. Diesel powers the trucks that move freight across the country. It keeps agriculture operating, supports mining and construction, and ensures emergency services can function. Petrol keeps essential workers on the road and families moving between work, school and home. Aviation fuel keeps the country connected.
If those supplies are disrupted during a global shock, the consequences will be immediate and severe. Supermarket shelves would empty, transport networks would stall and regional communities would be hit hardest.
The Strait of Hormuz situation is simply exposing a vulnerability that has been building for years. As MUA National Secretary Jake Field warned, "We mustn't gamble our economic stability on uninterrupted access to foreign fuel markets."
That warning is correct, and it should be taken seriously.
Australia needs to rebuild its fuel security. That means increasing sovereign fuel reserves well beyond international minimum requirements. It means protecting and expanding domestic refining capability so we are not entirely dependent on imported refined fuels. It also means recognising that energy security is a fundamental part of national security.
For too long, energy policy in Canberra has been driven by ideology rather than practical national interest. Policies pushed by Labor and the Greens, and too often accepted or implemented by the Liberals, have weakened Australia's energy independence and made the country more vulnerable to international shocks.
Australia should be one of the most energy secure countries in the world. Instead we have been allowed to drift into a position where a conflict thousands of kilometres away can threaten the fuel supply that keeps our economy running.
The Maritime Union of Australia is right to sound the alarm. The real question now is whether the political leadership of this country is prepared to act before the next crisis exposes just how fragile our fuel security has become.
