Attributable to NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin:
NSW Farmers welcomes the appointment of Anthea Harris as the Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator. This is an incredibly important opportunity to prioritise securing fuel supply for Australian industry and households, while also shielding them from higher prices.
The first order of business must be to provide assurance that diesel access for farms and the food supply chain will be a priority.
The war in Iran has been raging for almost four weeks now and is quickly escalating, and Australia needs government to act to deliver much-needed fuel, primarily in the independent distribution network which farmers rely on.
NSW Farmers' position on this is clear, state and federal governments must act today to ensure there is a guaranteed diesel supply for agriculture as a priority.
Diesel prices in regional areas continue to rise rapidly and farmers who can get access are having to absorb significant costs due to prices well above $3/L. Farmers are price takers and many are also facing hefty transport and fuel levies from freight and service providers which they are being forced to absorb.
The reserves we have must be managed carefully in case fuel stops arriving in Australia and NSW Farmers calls on the new taskforce and coordinator to ensure that geographic and/or sector-specific measures are in place to ensure diesel reaches farms.
At the same time, there must be close scrutiny of the dysfunctional behaviour of some middlemen in the fuel supply chain.
