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Western Australia’s Energy Minister says the two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz agreed to by the US and Iran have given the world some breathing room, but would not halt the work being done to shore up the state’s fuel supplies.
Amber-Jade Sanderson said BP’s fuel imports continued into the state with 10 shipments due for April and an additional diesel shipment due, which would supplement stocks in regional WA.
“I think we very much welcome the de-escalation, we very much welcome the ceasefire, and of course, we welcome the reopening of the strait so we continue those shipments into the Asian refineries,” she said.
“It does give breathing room, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to continue to prepare the way that we need to … to meet our obligations under the national fuel.”
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA released a wishlist of state and federal government actions to address shortages and price hikes, including pausing or suspending government fees like vehicle registration.
CCIWA chief executive Will Golsby said both levels of government needed to be prepared for further fuel shortages and where rationing may be required.
“It is vital that agriculture, trades, healthcare and transport/logistic are considered priority sectors if fuel rationing is introduced,” he said.
“There are other areas that will be obvious candidates, such as emergency services, resources and public transport, but it is essential the sectors we’ve highlighted are also exempted from any rationing.”
The chamber called on the state government to temporarily freeze car registration, utilities and truck registration fees and provide fuel vouchers to businesses operating with fixed term contracts with government where fuel is a big component of their expenses.
“We saw during COVID that car licensing fees were frozen to give businesses and the community some relief, so we know that this sort of step can be taken quite easily,” Golsby said.
It also called for the payroll tax threshold to rise to $1.3 million and cheaper public transport fares with additional frequency of services.
The chamber also wants both a state and federal fertiliser working group set up immediately to work on a plan to deal with any upcoming shortage of fertiliser in the agricultural sector.
Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas questioned why the 32-cent-per-litre fuel excise cut has not been felt in diesel fuels.
Diesel dropped from an average high of $3.22 per litre last week to $3.06 per litre on April 3 but has jumped back up to $3.21 per litre as of Wednesday.
Zempilas questioned the promises made by the state and federal governments last week that prices would come down.
“West Australians would like to see it. The premier announced it on Thursday, his words, his press conference, fuel will come down by around 32 cents a litre,” he said.
“We haven’t seen it, so Premier, get busy. Let’s see a fulfilment of that commitment for West Australian motorists on fuel.”
Unleaded dropped significantly from $2.51 per litre on March 31 to $2.27 on Wednesday.
