The deputy prime minister has made the rounds on television today to assure Australians that, despite Middle East conflict and soaring fuel prices, the supply of petrol and diesel here is stable – and to keep calm and carry on.
“As we speak, it is actually the same amount of fuel that is coming into the country that has come in,” said Richard Marles, Australia’s defence minister and deputy prime minister, on Sky News First Edition.
“But we’re mindful that, as you know, if this conflict does go on for a period of time, it has the capacity to obviously impact the supply of fuel to Australia.
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“With that in mind, we’ve released 20 per cent of the national stockpile [760 million litres of fuel] and we’ve targeted the regions in respect of that – places where there is the greatest need.
“What we’re asking of Australians right now is to go about their business as normal.”
When asked by Sunrise if there will be fuel rationing at this stage, he simply replied: “No.”
According to SBS, as of March 14, 2026, Australia has 29 days’ worth of petrol supply and 26 days of diesel. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned fuel retailers have hiked prices much earlier than expected, and there have been reports of Australians stockpiling fuel.
Mr Marles’ remarks come after the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, announced on March 12, 2026 that the government would allow for fuel to have higher sulfur levels for the next 60 days.
Mr Bowen said this would allow around 100 million litres a month to be introduced into Australian domestic supply, fuel that would otherwise have been exported.
He said Ampol Australia had committed to ensure this additional supply would be prioritised for regions of shortage, and for the wholesale spot market that supports independent distributors and harvesters.
Mr Marles has confirmed this supply will reach petrol stations in the coming days.
When asked by Sky News whether the government could guarantee Australia won’t run out of fuel, Mr Marles said he can’t predict how the Middle East conflict – which has seen Iran fire at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz – would evolve.
“We will do everything in our power to respond to this situation,” said Mr Marles.
“But you know, clearly, if the conflict does go on for some period of time, the Straits of Hormuz are not open, that is going to have an impact on the global supply chain.
“I’m just not going to speculate on the future because I don’t know how long this conflict will go in the Middle East. But we will be working through this in a very prudent way.
“And right now, I reiterate, the same amount of fuel is coming into the country today as was coming in prior to this conflict starting.”
He also rejected a line of questioning from the Today Show regarding whether the Australian Defence Force should be enlisted to deploy fuel tankers in Australia, arguing that it’s up to the state governments to request this support.
“I think the fundamental capacity to get fuel out there is going to lie with the fuel companies,” he added.
“And so that’s where this is at. I’m not sure that defence is going to make a material difference to this in the next couple of days.”
Australia has just two oil refineries, and imports roughly 90 per cent of its oil, leaving us at the mercy of global headwinds.
While the government has said it’s pulling levers to ensure fuel supply in Australia, it confirmed earlier this month it won’t cut the fuel excise even as prices rise at the pump.
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