Diesel remains volatile as prices rise again despite Labor’s fuel tax relief
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Diesel users in Australia are not enjoying the same relief as unleaded customers, with one in 30 service stations still entirely out of diesel and prices rising again after an initial slump last week.
But while the energy minister, Chris Bowen, urged Australians not to participate in a social media trend where people claim to be filling up their fuel tanks with cooking oil, he said the government was keen to support the development of biofuels like biodiesel from fats and vegetable oils.
The minister said 3.4% of Australia’s service stations, as of Monday, had zero diesel. That number included 142 out of 2,400 sites in New South Wales, 51 out of 1,700 in Victoria, and 38 petrol stations in Queensland.
Meanwhile diesel wholesale prices had plummeted by about 20c a litre on Wednesday alone, but surged about 10c higher over the following five days, Australian Institute of Petroleum data shows, as global fuel costs continued to rise.
Unleaded was selling for about 226c a litre on average in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart, according to MotorMouth. Adelaide’s unleaded prices fell 35.4c to an average 224.1c a litre, significantly more than the 32c fuel tax cuts delivered by state and federal governments.
After getting through the busy Easter period of travel with no new disruptions to supply, the government said work was ongoing to secure new shipments of fuel – including through the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s direct engagements with international counterparts.
“We continue to see no ships cancelled that have been contracted for Australia, extra orders being delivered, and we now have security of supply through April and now into May,” Bowen said on Monday.
The benchmark West Texas Intermediate price of crude oilsurpassed US$115 before settling above US$111on Monday, after Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants in a Truth Social post.
As his Tuesday evening deadline for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz approached, Trump wrote: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Albanese government ministers declined to comment on Trump’s latest outburst, but Bowen said Australia wanted to see an end to the war.
“The government will keep working with industry to ensure the security of fuel supply across the board as best we can in these difficult international circumstances. The prime minister’s been, of course, talking to his counterparts. I’ve been talking to mine. Foreign Minister Wong has been talking to hers,” Bowen said.
“We’ve been very pleased with the response we’ve had from our south-east Asian partners in particular, who recognise their role as reliable energy suppliers for Australia when it comes to our liquid fuels. And those conversations, of course, particularly between the prime minister and his counterparts, will continue over the course of this week.”
A number of social media users have recently posted videos online claiming to produce their own form of biodiesel from cooking oil, as an alternative to paying rising diesel prices. Experts have warned against the potentially dangerous tactic.
Bowen, asked about the trend, also urged caution.
“Well, I wouldn’t recommend people make their own arrangements for their cars. I think you should only put in what your car manufacturer recommends,” he said.
However, the minister went on to say the government had invested $1.1bn into the development of biofuels, which can be created from animal fats and vegetable or cooking oils. He said biodiesel “has got a great future, in my opinion”, saying the concept could “not only lower emissions but can create a lot of economic activity for Australia’s farmers”.
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