Andrew asked the Minister for Climate Change and Energy the following question about marine fuel oil in the Parliament.
“Minister, the minimum stockholding obligation for liquid fuels only applies to diesel, petrol and jet fuel.
It does not apply to bunker fuel, which is a specialised marine fuel oil used by the shipping industry.
So Minister, seeing as shipping is responsible for transporting almost all of our island nation’s trade, and indeed Tasmania’s trade, will you use your power under the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act to bring the same priority to bunker fuel?”
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy’s response to my question was good as far as it goes.
It was encouraging to hear that the Federal Government is aware of the situation, has discussed it with refiners and the Tasmanian Government, and is monitoring domestic bunker fuel production. It’s also good that some marine fuel oil for cargo and passenger vessels to Tasmania has been prioritised in the release from the national stockpile.
However the Minister’s answer also indicates that the bunker fuel situation is no better than the situation with other fuels. Unless the Government can secure additional supplies, we will be facing shortages which would have particularly severe impacts on Tasmania as the island state.
The Minister’s failure to address my request that bunker fuel be rolled into the legislated reporting and stockpiling arrangements was disappointing. Currently that regime only covers diesel, petrol and jet fuel, despite the fact that bunker fuel is also a critical liquid fuel for our island country that relies on shipping for 99 per cent of its trade.