The point where price is no longer a number on a bowser and becomes a warning sign was reached weeks ago by many. At $3.00 a litre, fuel isn't just expensive, it is a signal to fill jerry cans and prepare for when there is very little available.

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The Albanese government's decision to halve the fuel excise is a necessary reflex. Although the PM won't say it, the move aims to blunt the immediate pain, buy time, and hope global conditions stabilise. It has helped ease the price pain a little, but the longer Trump and Netanyahu's war goes on, the less high prices will be a primary concern. The most worrying development of an extended war will be fuel supply.

Australia is structurally exposed. Our nation imports the majority of our refined fuel. Any serious disruption, like stopping ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, hits us hard. We can't ride out prolonged shocks because we don't have deep fuel reserves.

Australia has improved its stockholdings in recent years, but it still operates with thin buffers, so in a fast-moving geopolitical crisis, weeks matter.

That's why the newly ratified National Fuel Security Plan is significant. Its four-tier escalation framework is an easily understood roadmap we can all adhere to. Right now, we sit at "keep Australia........

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