Australians feel petrol pinch as panic buying drives shortages

SYDNEY – The cheapest fuel had run out, and a man filled red jerry cans at a petrol station on Sydney’s metropolitan fringe on March 16 as drivers anxious about soaring prices queued up.

Panic buying, since Iranian attacks on ships effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli strike, has seen petrol prices soar half a world away in Australia – even as the government insists fuel shipments are arriving on schedule.

“I can drive up to 500km a week,” landscaper Emma Futterleib said as she filled up her diesel pickup truck at a service station in Penrith on the western outskirts of Sydney.

“It hurts the budget, that’s for sure. Just trying to be a bit careful on how much we are spending on groceries,” she added.

Australia is heavily reliant on fuel imports from Asia, as many are accustomed to driving vast distances for work or leisure.

In its most populous state of New South Wales – home to sprawling metropolitan Sydney – census data shows 1.6 million people drove to work, compared with just over 140,000 taking public transport.

As the oil price soared past US$100 a barrel, government data showed Australia had 37 days’ supply of petrol and 30 days’ supply of diesel.

Yet price gouging by retailers, combined with a doubling of demand as motorists stockpile fuel, has seen “real and unacceptable shortages”, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said at the weekend, after the government moved to increase supply to rural areas.

Ms Futterleib told AFP that she drove an hour from a rural town where she said farmers are worried about diesel shortages impacting crops and food supply.

“There are trucks off the road all over the country. Big diesels are the backbone of Australia,” she said.

Mr Chris Harald said he “had a heart attack” when he stopped to refuel after driving 400km from the coast to Penrith to visit family.

“If we still have fuel in the country, why has all that fuel gone up? It’s disappointing to see,” he told AFP after filling up with diesel.

Nearby, a price board showed the cheapest petrol type had sold out for the day.

Average fuel prices in New South Wales have surged from A$1.60 (S$1.40) a litre a month ago to A$2.23, according to monitoring service Fuel Watch. Diesel has reached higher, an average of A$2.62.

Professor Hussein Dia, a transport technology expert at Swinburne University of Technology, said “panic buying is a big issue”.

“In rural areas, it is more acute. They are running out of fuel and diesel,” he told AFP.

Mr Mohammad Afzali, an air-conditioner mechanic who fills up his van every two days as he drives to customers, said his petrol costs have doubled. It is a squeeze so tight that he says he is considering stopping his business as a result.

“It’s very hard. Everything is so expensive,” he said. “If prices keep going up, what should I do?” AFP