Australia’s Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, has assured the nation that the country’s fuel reserves are robust, with an ongoing influx of petrol to service stations nationwide.

In a weekly briefing on Saturday, Bowen highlighted that Australia currently has reserves sufficient for approximately 39 days of petrol, 29 days of diesel, and 30 days of jet fuel. He emphasized that the number of petrol stations experiencing fuel shortages is decreasing as efforts continue to restore supplies.

Bowen noted that there are 50 shipments en route to Australia, aimed at bolstering the country’s fuel inventory. Although six shipments were cancelled, they have been swiftly replaced by new orders to ensure a steady supply.

Addressing the issue of diesel shortages, Bowen reported to the media that 312 out of about 8,000 service stations are currently without diesel, acknowledging this as the area experiencing the greatest pressure.

Despite the progress, Bowen stressed that significant work remains to be done to address these shortages fully, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of affected stations to zero.

“Now that does not mean that there is not still a lot more work to do, so that figure comes down to zero.

“But industry and government have been working closely together to ensure that we are filling those gaps, which are being caused by the very big increase in demand.”

He provided updated figures on diesel shortages across the states.

• NSW: 150 stations are without diesel, down 32 from Friday. 36 total stock out, down 12
• VIC: 51 without diesel, down 23 . 30 without unleaded petrol
• QLD: 49 without diesel, down 7
• SA: 13 without diesel, down 15
• TAS: 8 without diesel
• NT: 5 without diesel
• ACT: 6 without diesel

Bowen encouraged Australians to stick to their Easter plans, but only to use the fuel they needed.

“Go see your family, go and take a break, but get no more fuel than you need,” he said.

“If you’re leaving the city to go to the bush, fill up in the city if you can … because most of the outages we’re seeing are in regional Australia, particularly on diesel.”

Holidaymakers undeterred by petrol prices

NRMA, which owns about 50 holiday parks and resorts, said higher fuel prices had not deterred Easter holidaymakers.

“There have been some cancellations but not at the levels initially feared,” the association’s spokesperson Peter Khoury said.

“That’s to be expected with record-high fuel prices.”

A survey conducted in March by the motoring group found that nearly a quarter of drivers are combining trips to make the tank last a bit longer.

More than 40 per cent polled were also cutting back on driving by between 10 to 30 per cent.

Khoury said cautious consumer confidence was buoyed by the federal government assuring the public of its supply strategy.

“There’s been more certainty around supply, the cut in the excise may have encouraged to people to get in the car and people have started to regulate their behaviour,” he said.

Drivers will get an additional 5.7 cents a litre off their fuel until 30 June as part of a deal between federal and state governments to forgo some GST revenue, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday.

The move follows a cut to the fuel excise, reducing wholesale petrol and diesel costs by around 26 cents a litre, for a total of 32 cents off.

— With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press

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