Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I'm advised that the commercial contract that we would put in place would provide that the host country needs to be able to identify the ticketed stock and its availability, throughout the contracted period. Terms in both the contract and the bilateral arrangement include how the entity needs to report the stock so that the stock cannot be double-counted by more than one country towards their IEA stockholdings. This is checked by the IEA to ensure accurate reporting. The IEA requires an overarching bilateral arrangement to be in place between the host and the buying countries. The IEA mandates that the arrangement include a clause that the host government agrees that it will not impede the release of stock in the event of a collective action. The commercial contract will also contain clauses relating to the release of stocks. If the host company refuses to release stocks, it may be violating the terms of the contract.

Australia would have two options under a ticket contract: the option to purchase and uplift the stock or the option to release the stock in-country. This, of course, would depend on the circumstances of different scenarios that play out, but the government believes that this measure in this legislation not only meets its IEA obligations but enhances fuel security arrangements.