News the Australian government will spend over A$10 billion to boost fuel supplies is both welcome and well overdue.

The plans announced today ahead of next week’s budget include $3.7 billion for publicly owned fuel reserves able to hold 1 billion litres of diesel and aviation fuel. They also include increasing stockholding requirements another ten days, and $7.5 billion to support fuel companies to access loans, insurance and equity to purchase and store more stock. That would mean Australia would have 37 days of petrol and diesel and 50 days of jet fuel.

Successive governments have largely been asleep at the wheel on fuel security. As the largest energy crisis on record drives up fuel prices and makes diesel harder to source, the government is frantically trying to play catch-up. Australia is highly exposed, as it now imports almost all its liquid fuels. Shoring up diesel supplies is vital, given how critical this fuel is for farming and trucking.

After the US-Iran war broke out and the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed, Australian policymakers hurriedly developed a National Fuel Security plan. Today’s announcement is the biggest so far under this plan. Previous measures include using emergency procurement agreements with neighbouring countries, underwriting emergency fuel cargoes, increasing stockpiles under new emergency stockholding powers and increasing existing liquid fuel sources.

These measures are an excellent start to bolster fuel security. But they’re not enough. Our leaders should secure more refining capacity and look for........

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