Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question, and I also express my welcome to our friends from the Philippines. Whilst conflict in the Middle East is sadly not a new development, the world has never before seen the Strait of Hormuz choked like this. As we know, the strait is one of the word's most important trade passages. It would normally carry around 20 million barrels of oil per day, but, due to Iran's weaponisation of the strait, we are now seeing less than 10 per cent of that get through—10 per cent. The majority of Australia's refined fuel comes from the Asian market, which is heavily exposed to Middle Eastern supply. This is how we are being affected, through the knock-on effect from the reduction in supply to the refineries of Asia, from where we get our liquid fuel supplies. That is what we are feeling domestically.

Many Australians have seen Iran's attacks on the strait and its threats to set fuel tankers ablaze and have rushed out to stock up on petrol. We understand why. There has been a huge surge in demand, even before those knock-on effects fully arrived on our shores. We've all seen the videos online of drums being filled up with petrol and of jerry cans flying off the shelves. That is why the government has been urging Australians to try to only use what they need. That surge in demand, combined with logistical challenges across the supply chain, is now contributing to instances where petrol stations run out of fuel. We understand the scale of this problem. We understand the depth of feeling across Australia. It is why the government has acted early and why we are focused on it—why we are determined to support houses and businesses through this uncertainty.