Press Conference - Sydney

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Can I begin by acknowledging the bravery of the Socceroos, and they certainly gave everything on the field there in Seattle, and I'm sure I speak on behalf of all Australians. When we say we're proud of you, we look forward to the game against Paraguay, and to us qualifying through to the next round. So, to Tony Popovic and all the Socceroos, well done. It's tough having a home game, of course, for the United States, but certainly the way that they played out the entire 90 minutes, plus six, plus a little bit extra for the referee, getting, getting cramped. Something I haven't seen before on a football field there. It was something that was an extraordinary effort and we are proud of you. And for all the Australians as well, who are there cheering on the Socceroos, it's fantastic to see such strong support for our national team. And I do note the pride that's there in them. Chanting out as well that, we have free health care, was a particularly good chant, I think that certainly warmed my heart. It is something that we should be really proud of as a nation and clearly our fans over there are and demonstrated that. I'm joined, of course, by my Minister for the weekly update when it comes to fuel. From the very outset of the conflict in the Middle East, my government has worked really hard to shield Australians from the worst impacts. We've said, even though the conflict is on the other side of the world and we were not protagonists, the impact has been felt right around the world with an increase in fuel prices, the greatest the world has ever seen, and an impact, of course, on supply as well. And we've worked really hard to ensure that Australia remains resilient and that Australia remains prepared for this. My government is focused on building Australia's resilience to global challenges and working to deliver cost of living relief. And that includes new cost of living measures coming in from the first of July, including, of course, the tax cut for every single Australian taxpayer. Today I can announce also that Export Finance Australia has secured with the private sector an additional 50 million litres of diesel and that this shipment is now headed for Port Botany. That brings, since February, through Export Finance Australia, the figures of securing nearly 800 million litres of diesel, 155 million litres of jet fuel and 340,000 tonnes of fertiliser. This is a context, of course, where prior to Easter, the Coalition and the right-wing parties were all saying that it was inevitable that there would be restrictions on people's access to petrol and diesel and that there would be restrictions brought in. What we've done is work really hard and I want to pay tribute to the Minister, but also to our private sector partners who've made sure that we've been able to secure, up to this point, really successfully, the fuel that Australia needs. And since February 28th, of course, we've seen an actual increase in the amount of fuel that's here in Australia compared with then, rather than a decrease. I will go through with the Minister now. We'll go through every one of the latest weekly figures and then we're happy to take some questions.

CHRIS BOWEN, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY: Well, thanks very much, Prime Minister. Today, Australia has 44 days worth of petrol, which is one day down on last week, but eight days more than when Iran was first bombed. We have 39 days worth of diesel, the same figure as last week, and seven days more than 28 February, and 32 days worth of jet fuel, which is the same figure as last week, and three days more than 28 February. Last week was the highest level of fuel held in Australia since the minimum stock obligation came into force in 2023. This week is the second highest at 6.3 billion litres. We have 51 ships on the way to Australia, on the water to Australia as we speak, and we have 3.9 billion litres of fuel contracted, locked in, to be delivered over the next four weeks. That's around 400 million litres more than my report last Saturday. It consists of 1.9 billion litres worth of diesel, 586 million litres worth of petroleum, 423 million litres worth of jet fuel and 948 million litres of crude oil. And as the Prime Minister announced, we secured another 50 million litres of diesel through the EFA, which brings the total to just under 800 million litres. So, as the PM said, we want to thank the private sector who's worked so closely with us, our trading partners, who the PM has led the direct personal engagement with, which has been so important, and Australians across the board. Now, there were those who said rationing and shortages were inevitable. The opposition said shortages were inevitable and played politics. One Nation called for rationing, demanded rationing. There were experts in the newspaper saying rationing would be inevitable. We had the view that calmer heads should prevail and that we should work through the risks and the challenges stably and calmly with our trading partners, with the private sector and see Australia through. And obviously, there continues to be uncertainty internationally. But that will continue to be the approach of the Albanese government. A calm approach, working carefully with our trading partners, with the private sector, with all Australians, to ensure the supply of fuel to Australia is as good as it possibly can be in these challenging international circumstances. And I'm very pleased that we're able to say that our fuel stocks are this week the second highest they've been since 2023. And we continue to have very strong delivery of fuel to Australia. Thanks, PM.

PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: The price of a barrel of wholesale oil is still quite significantly more expensive now than what it was pre war. Now, with the end to the tax excise cut looming, motorists might be paying about 35 to 40 cents more. When do you think prices will be back to normal as they were in February?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, there is uncertainty on the global markets and there's uncertainty because of the decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, we welcome the de-escalation, doesn't mean that it immediately opens. There are sea mines there. There is a great deal of uncertainty about how long it will take before normal trade resumes. And when you have a disruption to trade, you have an increase in price because it reflects the less volume that is available. We've said that very clearly that that is the case. We're hopeful of a resumption of normal trade as soon as possible. And we do note that there has been a considerable decrease in the price of oil in this week since the announcement by the United States and Iran. But with regard to the volatility which is still there, and we've said that the whole way along that there would be a long tail to the economic impact of this, what we've done is work very hard to shield Australians from that impact. Which is why we not only have had the cut to the fuel excise, we also have had the considerable investment that we've made underwriting these deals on the spot market by Export Finance Australia.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, are you any closer to a decision on the cut to the fuel excise?

PRIME MINISTER: We'll be making a decision over coming days about that and we'll announce it appropriately.

JOURNALIST: Are you expecting people to go and stock up on fuel before the excise ends?

PRIME MINISTER: No, we would hope that people continue to respond in a responsible way and that is what we have seen. Prior to my address to the nation just before Easter, we were seeing a spike in demand that was causing real pressure and shortages, particularly in some regional areas. Now we have run a campaign, every little bit helps, and Australians have done their bit to see Australia through what has been a global fuel crisis.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the demands, that announcement when you do make a decision on the fuel excise, that is going to cause demand issues again or do you think your messaging has really got through?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think people will continue to behave responsibly. As I said, we were not and the Minister Bowen has just said as well it wasn't helpful that at the time prior to Easter and around that period post February 28, we had very alarmist comments from members of the opposition that that was echoed by some through media channels and that people were concerned about whether they would be able to get out and about one of the reasons for my national address was to say people should go about their normal business, people should go away at Easter time, people should go about their normal trade. We've worked as well with the trucking sector, the heavy vehicle sector as well, to pass legislation that we did to provide some protection there as well as the reduction down to zero that occurred in the Heavy Vehicle Road User.

JOURNALIST: What plans have been put in place to prevent fuel shortages, particularly in those regional areas?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the ones that we've announced, but I'll ask Chris to supplement this. What we've announced is that there is more fuel, more diesel in Australia, more petrol and more jet fuel than there was on February 28th. Now we also have in the way that we've structured the Export Finance Australia deals, we have prioritised regional Australia, we've prioritised getting fertiliser there so that people have been able to plant crops in the full confidence that they'd be able to actually harvest. So, this has made an enormous difference to Australia. It's been taken off the front pages when you're successful. There hasn't been a leading the TV news bulletins or on the front page of newspapers or leading radio bulletins every day. But I tell you what, if we had not got this right, then there would have been real negative consequences for Australian families as a result of the shortages which could well have been there, which were there in other parts of our region and the world. Chris.

CHRIS BOWEN: Thanks PM. PM said it well of course the focus of our EFA deals has been regional Australia. Some arrangements with companies that only supply to regional Australia like IOR and Freedom Fuels, but also arrangements with Ampol and Viva which really focus and concentrate on extra buffers for regional Australia because that's where we saw the really big increase in demand in the early days. Now the message, well, with the extra litres that we've secured and much of it focused on extra buffers for regional Australia. And, you know, I speak to the chief executives of the petrol companies most days, will continue to monitor the situation on regional demand very closely, work closely together. The message remains the same, though, to all Australians. If we all continue to buy as much as we need, no more, no less, then we'll get through just fine. We'll get through just fine. Because there's more petrol in Australia today than there was on the day Iran was bombed. More than at any time during since 2023. More diesel, more fuel, more petrol, more jet fuel, all of it. That's because our arrangements have been put in place. So, what we should do, all of us, is get as much petrol or diesel as we need. Get no more, get no less. And the way that we've got through this so far will be the way that we'll get through coming weeks as well.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on a recent issue, Pauline Hanson today has claimed she noticed an almost immediate withdrawal from AFP protection following the 2022 election. Were AFP resources offered to Hanson?

PRIME MINISTER: Look, I'll make a few comments. The AFP decide their things independently based upon their assessments. This is not. These decisions are not political. I do note the front page of one of the papers today. I also note that there was someone in court last week, someone in court the week before, someone in court the week before with serious charges relating to security of myself and government members. I make this point. We need to turn the temperature down. Every member of Parliament should be able to go about their business free from any threats or any intimidation. And the AFP do a terrific job making sure that security issues are examined. But everyone needs to do that. Some of the hateful commentary which is there in both online and it must be said in some mainstream media as well, is designed to turn the temperature up. We can have respectful political disagreement without recourse to hateful vilification and incitement. We see people riled up and that is not a good thing here in Australia. Our democracy depends upon people being able to participate in a full way, which is why I've said completely opposed to what occurred at the National Press Club this week. People should be allowed to go along and indeed encouraged to go along, speak whatever views they have and to do it peacefully and for that to be respected.

JOURNALIST: Just on the suspected case of the H5 strain of bird flu, how concerned are you about the potential impacts of its arrival in Western Australia, both in terms of animal welfare and economically?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, this is concerning. And Minister Collins will be up shortly providing an update on those issues. I make this point that we've invested $113 million to strengthen our nation's preparedness for H5 bird flu, including an additional $11.2 million we had in our most recent budget.

JOURNALIST: Will the government be providing support to people financially affected if the strain starts to spread locally?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we're about is making sure firstly that we do whatever we can to restrict the spread. We, of course, always examine these issues carefully. We have prepared for it. This is something that has happened through migratory birds. It's happened, by definition, around the world. And that is why we've been preparing for this. Thank you.