Fuel shortage hits 75 NSW stations as Westpac warns of three more RBA interest rate rises
New South Wales is facing a worsening fuel shortage, with 75 service stations across the state completely out of all types of fuel as of 9am this morning. According to data from the state’s FuelCheck compliance platform, 392 of the 2,414 registered stations—just under one in six—are out of stock of at least one fuel type, while 242 are specifically without diesel or premium diesel. Premier Chris Minns confirmed the situation has deteriorated since Friday, when 59 stations were empty, 347 were missing at least one fuel type, and 207 lacked diesel.
Government Responses to the Crisis
The federal government has moved to ease cost-of-living pressures, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing a halving of the fuel excise for three months from 1 April, a measure expected to save motorists 26 cents a litre. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan welcomed the move, stating it would complement her state’s decision to make public transport free for the month of April. She said the savings would help households pay for mounting bills. The Victorian government also announced it would introduce legislation this week to strengthen fuel security arrangements by requiring suppliers to provide data on supply and distribution, a move similar to laws recently introduced in Tasmania.
However, the NSW government has explicitly ruled out following Victoria’s lead on free public transport. Premier Minns defended the decision, citing a NSW Treasury estimate that such a scheme would cost $140m a month in foregone Opal card revenue. He argued that the crisis, rooted in Middle East tensions, showed no sign of being resolved within 30 days. “I want to make sure that we’ve got enough resources and money available to help NSW families if we’re in a prolonged situation,” Minns said. When asked if the excise cut could worsen shortages by encouraging consumption, Minns acknowledged petrol prices were expected to drop soon and urged consumers to “act responsibly,” but stressed the cut was necessary to help struggling families.
The economic ramifications of the fuel price spike are significant. Westpac’s chief economist, Luci Ellis, warned the Reserve Bank of Australia could be forced to deliver three more interest rate hikes by August to combat inflation, which could peak at 5.4% in the June quarter. This could push the cash rate to 4.85% and see unemployment rise to around 5%.
Other National Developments
In other news, the political debate over tax reform continues. Labor supported a Greens motion in the Senate to establish a select committee to examine the tax regime for oil and gas companies, including potential changes to the petroleum resource rent tax. The committee, chaired by the Greens’ Steph Hodkins-May, is due to report days before the May budget. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor shut down a push from colleague Andrew Hastie to be “open-minded” about increasing taxes on gas companies and winding back concessions for property investors, exposing internal philosophical divisions.
In law enforcement, the Australian Federal Police charged six men from Honduras and Ecuador over an alleged multinational cocaine-importation scheme. The men were detained after the French navy intercepted their modified vessel, the MV Raider, in French Polynesia, seizing and destroying 4.8 tonnes of cocaine. The vessel was later escorted into Sydney Harbour following a distress call. AFP Commander Brett James said investigations were ongoing into the syndicate behind the alleged import.
Separately, Queensland Police charged a 47-year-old Logan man with using a carriage service to make a threat to kill a federal parliamentarian. The AFP’s National Security Investigations teams, established to target threats to social cohesion, were involved in the investigation.
In Victoria, fugitive Dezi Freeman, accused of killing two police officers at Porepunkah, was shot dead after a seven-month manhunt. In a separate case in NSW, a second man, Cameron Kite, 41, was charged with manslaughter over the 2021 death of Jarrad Antonovich at a retreat near Kyogle, where ceremonies allegedly involved the frog toxin kambo and ayahuasca.
Industrial action at the ABC has seen a breakthrough, with the journalists’ union describing a Fair Work Commission meeting with managing director Hugh Marks as “constructive and positive.” Over 2,000 staff had walked off the job after rejecting a pay offer of 10% over three years.
Infrastructure works will cause significant disruption, with three weeks of rolling track closures set to begin on Friday across South East Queensland’s rail network to allow for upgrade projects including Cross River Rail works. Acting Translink head Dean Helm urged travellers to plan ahead.
Finally, Brisbane’s troubled Star casino has secured a $550m refinancing deal with American private credit provider WhiteHawk Capital Partners in a bid to facilitate a turnaround, while a coalition of more than 150 civil society groups signed a ‘No Nuclear Weapons in Australia’ declaration, calling on the government to reject the hosting or transit of nuclear weapons and to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
