By Michael Burt
Farmers and regional councils are calling for immediate action to fix regional distribution failures now impacting food and fibre production and rural communities across the state.
More than 140 regional service stations in NSW were without diesel this week and farmers are grappling to secure fuel supplies for the winter crop planting season.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said last week’s National Fuel Security Plan and the shift to “keeping Australia moving” was only meaningful if it resulted in hoses in diesel tanks for farmers.
“We welcome national coordination, but farmers can’t run tractors on a framework,” Mr Martin said.
“This is a crisis that requires urgent action, because farmers and truckies need a reliable diesel supply to produce food and fibre, then get it to consumers.”
Mr Martin said agriculture was a critical industry, and fuel distribution had to prioritise farmers and the food supply chain – not just in principle, but through sector-specific and region-specific action that removed persistent bottlenecks in the independent distribution network and put diesel in tanks.
“Farmers continue to report shortages and stress heading into this critical period, and ongoing distribution failures risk cascading impacts across livestock movements, feed, cropping programs and broader regional supply chains,” he said.
Mr Martin said the National Cabinet statement correctly recognised the need to protect critical services and plan for escalation, but stressed the farming sector needed real-time delivery now, clear triggers, and accountability to ensure the plan translated into outcomes on the ground.
“A plan is only as good as its execution,” Mr Martin said.
“What farmers need to hear next is simple: That country diesel tanks have been refilled, the tractors and trucks are moving again, the dysfunctional middlemen in the fuel industry have been dealt with and supply stabilised.
“Food supply is a critical service, and if the farm sector does not have guaranteed prioritisation of access to diesel to produce and transport food, there will be considerably more impacts for all Australians.”
More than 60 councils from across NSW have also issued an urgent call for the NSW Government to guarantee fuel supplies for council garbage and waste collections.
“Councils across NSW are gravely concerned that without a guarantee of fuel supply, garbage services will be disrupted in coming weeks and months,” said LGNSW President Mayor Darcy Byrne
“That’s why we have called with one voice for the NSW Government to commit to supplying the fuel we need to deliver basic services.”
“Across the state this year, councils and landfill operators will pay almost $900 million in a waste levy that currently just goes into consolidated revenue. That money needs to go back into the system to help soften the blow of increases in the cost of petrol.”
Mayor Byrne met with the Treasurer and with the Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change last week and was asked to collate information on the impacts of fuel distribution issues.