- Western Australia adopts National Fuel Security Plan
- Co-ordinated approach in interests of Western Australia and the nation
- National Fuel Security Plan will sit above the State Hazard Plan
- National plan addresses fuel supplies, as well as other critical supply chains like urea and plastics
The Cook Government has today adopted the National Fuel Security Plan to ensure a co-ordinated response to the fuel shock caused by the war in the Middle East.
The plan was endorsed by the Commonwealth, as well as all state and territory governments at a meeting of National Cabinet this morning.
First Ministers acknowledged the conflict is contributing to heightened volatility in global energy markets, with flow-on impacts for domestic supply chains and prices.
While Australia is well supplied with fuel at the national level at present, it is the responsibility of all governments to plan ahead for every scenario.
The national plan has been designed to give the community and business an understanding of the current and potential supply and demand measures at the following four graduated levels of impact:
1. Plan and prepare
2. Keeping Australia moving
3. Taking targeted action
4. Protecting critical services for all Australians
Currently, all states and territories, including WA, sit at level 2 on the National Plan. This means precautionary measures are being taken to shore up fuel supply and encourage Western Australians to only buy the fuel they need.
Any shift in level of the National Plan will be signalled by the National Cabinet in consultation with industry and sectors.
It has been designed so that the Commonwealth, states, and territories can move up and down, depending on their current needs.
As part of the national plan, each state and territory also committed to work together to address Australia's long-term fuel security and prioritise building our fuel resilience.
The National Fuel Security Plan will now sit above the State Hazard Plan and build on the work that the State Government has already undertaken since the start of the war in the Middle East.
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"At National Cabinet today, a National Fuel Security Plan was endorsed, providing a roadmap for supply and demand fuel measures to address current and potential challenges as a result of the war.
"All leaders committed to working together in unison to address the impacts of the fuel shock, in both the national interest and in the interests of our own communities.
"This national plan will now sit above our State Hazard Plan, which has served us well to address issues on the ground since the start of the Iran conflict.
"The seven point plan for fuel security that we launched following our fuel security roundtable will also continue in alignment.
"As we have learned with previous global challenges not of our own making, the importance of a co-ordinated, unified approach by government cannot be overstated.
"In the development of the national plan, I have worked hard to ensure WA's interests are represented, particularly over the importance of diesel, urea, and plastics to our economy.
"While committed to working collaboratively across the country, I will always do the right thing for WA and make the decisions I need to make to keep WA strong."
