E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS – AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH ASHLEIGH GILLON
THURSDAY, 26 MARCH 2026
Subjects: Fuel supply, mining sector, fertiliser shortage, electric vehicles
ASHLEIGH GILLON (HOST): Joining us now live from Canberra, is the Assistant Climate Change and Energy Minister, Josh Wilson. Appreciate your time. Thanks so much. How would you characterise the fuel situation we’re in? Is it an energy crisis at this point?
JOSH WILSON: Well, it’s a global crisis. We’ve got a war in the Middle East, and it’s putting unprecedented pressure on fuel supplies, and then that is cascading into lots of other areas of life. The response by the International Energy Agency in coordinating that global release of stocks that we’ve participated in as one of the things that we’ve done is the largest response that they’ve ever coordinated. So it tells you something about the nature of the crisis in the Middle East, that all countries are seeking to deal with as best we can. And we’re certainly doing that here in Australia.
GILLON: At what point does fuel rationing kick in? How bad do things need to get?
WILSON: Well, we’re not at that point yet, and we hope we never get to that point. You know, we are managing the circumstances. At the moment, we have an adequate fuel supply. We’ve increased the stock holding from what was the case under the coalition. And for the time being, fuel continues to come into Australia as scheduled. As Minister Bowen has said on those few occasions where in the month of April, there have been ships that we understand weren’t coming, aren’t coming. They have been replaced or alternative arrangements have been put in place. Plus we’ve got an additional three spot market deliveries that are coming as well. So for the time being, there is fuel available in Australia. We hope that people continue to buy and use fuel as they as they need, and not to necessarily go out and purchase more fuel and put that sort of localised pressure through the increased demand that we’re seeing. But obviously, if the crisis in the Middle East goes on and is prolonged, then the pressure will continue to build.
GILLON: Mining companies in your home state of WA are warning that they’re scaling back operations. The iron ore miner, Fenix Resources, the latest to reportedly today be dipping into iron ore stockpiles to try and conserve diesel. We know that FIFO workers last week in some parts of the state was stood down. What’s the government doing to ensure the mining sector is protected in the meantime from these shortages. And do you agree with the WA Premier, Roger Cook that your home state does deserve a greater share of the nation’s strategic fuel reserve to cater for the fuel demands of the mining sector?
WILSON: Well, we’re working in an open and cooperative and consultative manner right across the board. We’re obviously doing that with states and territories. That’s why the Prime Minister convened National Cabinet last week, and Minister Bowen also got the Energy Ministers together. We’ve put in place the Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator, and we are, we are seeking to use the measures that we have at our disposal as well as those kind of coordinating mechanisms to deal with the situation as best we can. There will be differentiated experiences of the pressure around the country. I recognise those circumstances in Western Australia. Obviously, a number of those companies are themselves in a better position to manage their own fuel use and fuel supply than smaller and medium enterprises, and some of them have significant fuel stock holdings. The kind of response you described before strikes me as being a sensible approach in the circumstances. And we’re seeing that in lots of areas of Australian life, people are responding in a smart and sensible way to reduce fuel use if they can, and that’s a sensible thing to do.
GILLON: And on the micro level, for individuals. Is it sensible for people to work from home if they can? The Easter break is coming up? Is it sensible for people to perhaps reassess long haul drives to regional areas. Should holiday makers be thinking twice before setting off?
WILSON: Well, the fuel supply in Australia remains stable, and fuel is available as people need it, but people will make sensible choices. [INTERRUPTED]
GILLON: But it’s not is it Josh Wilson. In a lot of places it’s not available, particularly regional areas.
WILSON: Well, there are places in rural and regional Australia that have faced those shortages. They are relatively few. If you look at the petrol stations as a proportion, you know, perhaps 1, 2, 3, per cent of stations are not the same stations from one day the next. But we absolutely recognise those pressures. That’s why we think it’s important that people get the fuel that they need, but not necessarily seek to get more than that. It’s been that big surge in localised demand that’s caused the distribution problems. We’re seeking to address that, and we’ve directed the release of the minimum stockholding obligation specifically to rural and regional areas, and we expect that that will make a difference. But just coming back to the question Ash, in terms of how people deal with the circumstances. When oil prices are high, which occurs from time to time, because they are essentially set by global markets, people will respond, I know that my soccer team on the weekend, on the WhatsApp group, we were traveling away for a longer distance game than usual, and there were people just saying, hey, let’s carpool. I mean, that’s a sensible thing to do for people, if that’s an option available to them. And I expect that lots of Australians, whether their households or businesses, will be being creative and taking common sense responses to the circumstances. Because, frankly, that’s the Australian way that’s in our character, to not panic, not take steps that that aren’t necessary, or that have that kind of, I don’t know, extra edge of anxiety, but to be realistic about the challenge and respond to it in a sensible and community minded way.
GILLON: For some people, though, this is about their livelihoods, isn’t it? I mean, farmers are warning they don’t have enough fertiliser and diesel to plant their winter crops. Urea suppliers are telling farmers they don’t know if they can fulfill their orders. What’s your message to farmers, and do you think that food price hikes are inevitable? Is that something Australians should be prepared for?
WILSON: Well, fertiliser is an issue. The truth is that there’s sufficient fertiliser in Australia at present to get us through the current planting season and certainly for the next little while. As with everything, if the crisis goes on for a prolonged period, then the pressure will build. But I know that the Minister for Agriculture, Julie Collins, is meeting with the sector and peak organisations on a weekly basis, with Fertilizer Australia and with the National Farmers Federation to help look at that issue in a serious way and try and manage access to fertiliser in the time ahead.
GILLON: And just finally, will the government be considering introducing even more generous policies or incentives to encourage the take up of electric vehicles in the wake of this crisis? Do you think?
WILSON: Well, we’ve made a big change since we were elected, and it was a sensible change in 2022 only one in 25 new vehicles were electric vehicles. In the month of February, it was closer to one in six last year, it was around 14% which is quadruple what it was when we were elected in 2022. That means that there are more electric vehicles out there in the community, mostly for households, but for some small businesses too. And in every case, a person who has an electric vehicle isn’t buffeted by the circumstances in relation to liquid fuel. But more than that, every person who’s made that choice is essentially not drawing on the fuel resources that others might need to use in the circumstances that we presently face. So it’s a good thing that Australians have the option to choose from a much wider range of electric vehicles that’s tripled under us because of the fuel emission changes that we made, and a lot of cheaper models are now available. And obviously Australians are taking that choice for their own reasons, because fuel costs are lower, operational costs are lower, and it makes a contribution to tackling dangerous climate change. So we’ve made some progress in that area, which is which is welcome, and of course, we’ve continued to support that for a range of measures that have been introduced in the last couple of years
ENDS
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