When fuel prices spiked this year, Australians were told it was the war, supply was tight and nothing could be done, but it's now pretty clear that oil companies have been taking us for a ride. Last week, Ampol told the stock exchange that conditions in the Middle East were 'net favourable' for its business, and it wasn't kidding. Its refining margin more than doubled on a year ago. Its net profit for the first half of this year rose nearly 400 per cent. Viva Energy's operating profit rose 154 per cent, but it only sold one per cent more fuel. They didn't sell more fuel; they made more on every litre. This hurts Australians in multiple ways: paying for those higher margins at the bowser, paying more for everything that's moved using these fuels and paying more on mortgages as the resulting inflation drives up interest rates.

But it gets worse. Since 2021, taxpayers have paid these refiners to stay open when margins are thin. In the lean years, the public carries the risk. When a war delivers a windfall, the companies keep it. Refiners should not be profiting from a crisis while Australians suffer. A windfall profits tax would make sure the public shares in the upside, not just the cost. In the long run, the best protection is to stop depending on imported fuels at all.