Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
11 MARCH 2026
Channel 7 Sunrise
Topics: Fuel security; fuel supply crisis; Government inaction on fuel
E&OE
Natalie Barr
For their take, let’s bring in Housing Minister Clare O’Neil and Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash, good morning to both of you. Clare, we’ll start with you. Will people really listen to Chris Bowen’s plea to stop panic buying?
Clare O’Neil
Nat, firstly, can I just acknowledge for your viewers at home that there’s a feeling of uncertainty in the air, and I think for people who are watching the news each night and seeing conflict break out in a region of the world that’s so essential to global fuel security, you know, it’s really understandable that people are feeling a bit uncertain. It’s really important at a moment like this that community leaders like Michaelia and myself make sure that this conversation is being driven by facts. The fact is that we have enough fuel in Australia. We are seeing those supplies continue to renew. So deliveries that were expected are arriving on time. We have an excess of fuel in the country that’s in excess of the legal requirement. The reason that we are seeing issues around the country is because people are buying more fuel than they need, and so I’d say to people at home, the government is watching this incredibly closely. We are managing this on a daily basis, and people should feel confident in our system of fuel security as a country and buy what they need, and we will work through these issues with petrol stations around the country.
Natalie Barr
Okay, Michaelia, it sounds like we’ve got panic buying, according to the government. We have hoarding, according to the government. Do we need to put limits on how much people can buy?
Senator Cash
Well, Nat, according to the government, it’s everybody else’s fault. Let’s blame mum and dad Australia. Let’s blame the farmers. Let’s blame the small businesses. Let’s blame the truckies. How about the government actually start governing? Governing is hard. Take some responsibility. If Chris Bowen keeps saying the supply is there, then the question the government needs to answer, why around Australia are people unable to get fuel? The government needs to sit down with the fuel suppliers. The fuel suppliers, Nat, have detailed information about exactly where this stock is in Australia, more particularly, where it’s not and where the blockages are. The government needs to have a hard conversation with the fuel suppliers, get the stock to where it needs to be. But at the moment, all we see is Chris Bowen stand up day after day and say ‘she’ll be right. Nothing to see here.’ And yet, Australian families know, truckies know, farmers know, they’re turning up at bowsers Nat, and there is no fuel. Start governing Mr. Bowen and start taking responsibility.
Natalie Barr
Yeah, Clare, there seems to be a blockage somewhere. Obviously, you’ve got farmers saying, I can’t get fuel for all my equipment, and you’ve got people selling jerry cans on Facebook marketplace for 500 bucks. Are we getting on the phone to Woodside, Santos, Chevron and Shell, and saying, where’s the fuel, guys?
Clare O’Neil
Yeah, so exactly, Nat, and that’s the work of any competent government at a time like this. And Michaelia has spoken about bringing together the players who are responsible for bringing fuel into the country and distributing it around the country. We’ve already done that, and I think Michaelia is aware of that. This is a daily focus for our government at the moment, trying to make sure that we maintain the fuel that we need in our country and that it’s being spread appropriately.
Natalie Barr
But do you know where the hiccup is? Is it the trucks not getting from the suppliers? Because so if Bowen says we’ve got the supply?
Clare O’Neil
Yes, yes.
Natalie Barr
And the trucks take it out to the country. Are the trucks not getting it out of the ground? Like, where is the supply?
Clare O’Neil
The issue is that in certain regions of the country, we’ve seen huge spikes in demand, far in excess of what’s needed in that region. So for example, in the Adelaide Hills, there’s been almost a three times increase in the amount of fuel that’s being consumed in that region. Now that’s not coming from an actual need to increase the amount of energy being used. It’s coming because people are getting nervous, and that’s why I say again, you know, the job of responsible leaders in a moment like this is to make sure that the facts are on the table. And the facts are we have enough fuel. There are these disruptions being caused by people buying more than they need. We will work through them calmly as a government, as we do with all issues of this nature.
Natalie Barr
It can’t be coming from just people filling a jerry can, can it? They’re tiny. Are people actually feeling massive, big trucks or something and taking it? It just seems amazing to me that little jerry cans being put in people’s boots are causing a crisis. Michaelia, are you hearing about this?
Senator Cash
Oh, every day Nat, we’re standing up every day in the Senate, in the House of Reps, and we’re putting to the government. These are real life stories. Are you saying that the farmer is lying? Are you saying that the petrol station is lying? Are you saying that the independent retailer in regional Australia is now lying when they say they can’t access the fuel and they may have to close down? I’ll tell you, this government is very good at saying things. Australians are beyond saying things Nat. If Mr. Bowen is yet again going to say today, the supply is there, there’s no issue here. Well, there is an issue. There is an issue. Sit down and have a much harder conversation with these fuel companies. They know where the fuel is at any given point in time, but now they also know where the fuel is not. This government’s conversations, quite frankly, must be touching them with a feather, because they are not working.
Natalie Barr
Okay, you’re right. So, Clare, it’s not working because some fuel stations have no fuel, like there’s drips coming out. So can we send more trucks? So, Clare, can we send more trucks from the reserve, from the fuel companies, wherever the hell they keep the fuel. Can we send more out?
Clare O’Neil
Well, absolutely, Nat, and that is the work that the government is undertaking on a daily basis here with industry. You would have heard our minister, Chris Bowen talk about a really significant discussion that the whole industry basically came together with government to have yesterday. And just coming back to Michaelia’s point, no one is denying that there’s issues being experienced around the country. I’d just say really politely to Michaelia that our responsibility here is not to add to the aspects that are driving people to panic buy. What we need to do is be calm and make sure that people have the facts. We have enough fuel in the country. Our supplies are being replenished at exactly the rate that we expected. We have more fuel in reserve than the legislated requirement that our government put in place to manage situations such as this, and on a daily basis, we are focused on trying to iron out these issues, and we will be able to do that. It just takes some time.
Natalie Barr
Okay, so hopefully more trucks.
Senator Cash
Well, Nat, that makes it even worse. That makes it even worse, if Clare is saying the fuel is there, and the government’s doing something – well, that is a total failure, because people are still turning up on the bowser… They had a meeting. Big clap for the government. Apparently, they’re getting daily updates. How about getting updates every 30 minutes as to where this fuel is and why there are now regional independent operators saying they may close forever because of the situation they now find themselves in. Let’s get serious and start governing this country.
Natalie Barr
Okay, we might get like Woodside or Santos on the phone. Might put a call into them and see where their trucks are heading. Thank you both.
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