Letter to the Editor: Fuel shortages are the fault of government

DEAR News Of The Area,

AUSTRALIA until recently had 10 oil refineries, but now has only two.

Therefore we rely almost entirely on imports of finished products, of which we have only a few weeks of supply stored on Australian soil.

The late Senator Major General Jim Molan pointed out the severe consequences of our defence forces relying on imports.

Australia from the 1980s to early 2000s produced over 80 percent of our crude oil needs, but now produces less than 20 percent, and much of that is exported for overseas refineries to process.

We do have vast amounts of gas and crude oil underground, but poor government policies do not encourage Australia to be self-sufficient, as we used to be (almost).

It will require many decades before electric vehicles can partially replace the use of diesel in farms, mines and food transport.

In the meantime, nothing that our PM Albanese has yet said can alleviate future fuel shortages over the longer term.

Yours sincerely,
Lex STEWART,
Stuarts Point.