Over 100 service stations in Victoria are empty of petrol, while 83 do not have diesel; fuel shortages linked to conflict across the Middle East continue to spread worldwide.
However, according to the ABC, Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the shortages were driven by panic buying rather than a genuine lack of supply.
“The fuels coming into the country, they’re still flowing into the country, ” Ms D’Ambrosio said on ABC Melbourne radio, echoing comments made yesterday by federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.
The affected service stations are located across both metropolitan and regional areas.
Minister said ‘In some parts of Victoria – not widespread – demand has increased by 300 to 400 per cent in areas of the state.
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Most of these regions do have alternatives, and this is really important for communities to be sure that there are alternative service stations providing the fuel. , ” and.
This is just over a day since Premier Chris Minns confirmed that more than 100 service stations in New South Wales had run out of diesel, with 35 stations having no fuel at all.
There have been prices of diesel as high at $3 per litre in some parts of both states and shortages are also likely to affect the transport of fresh produce and supply to supermarkets.
The disruption follows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging motorists last week to “be a good Australian” and avoid panic buying fuel.
The shortages suggest many motorists have ignored the prime minister’s request.
On Sunday, Mr Bowen said the nation’s fuel stocks had increased to 38 days, with measures including adjustments to fuel quality requirements helping maintain supply, despite the cancellation of six ships due to arrive in Australia.
Mr Bowen said the country remains a long way from widespread outages and is not yet at the point where fuel rationing would be required.
But it’s much more likely that there’ll be bumps in supply, but governments will work with the refiners and the importers to manage those and minimise impact.’ He told ABC’S Insider on Sunday, March 22.
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Thanks for reading Panic buying sees more than 100 Victorian service stations run out of fuel
