Albanese government appoints fuel coordinator as ACCC investigates major suppliers’ conduct in regional Australia

The federal government has appointed Anthea Harris, former chief executive of the Australian Energy Regulator and of the Energy Security Board, as Coordinator of a new Fuel Supply Taskforce.

The new taskforce will be established in Anthony Albanese’s own Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Harris will be responsible for:

• driving coordination between the Commonwealth and the states and territories on fuel security and supply chain resilience

• providing consistent, coordinated updates to the Commonwealth and states and territories on the fuel supply outlook, as well as the domestic fuel distribution

• supporting state and territory governments to get fuels to their regions where they are in demand, and acting as a single convening point for fuel supply and forward planning.

In a statement Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said: “This is a cross portfolio coordination role, ensuring the decisions of government are implemented quickly and smoothly”.

Federal, state and territory leaders met as the national cabinet on Thursday morning to discuss the fuel situation. In a communique after the meeting they stressed Australia was “in a good position at present and does not have an overall fuel shortage at this time”.

But they acknowledged there were shortages in some areas because of increased demand.

The leaders appealed to Australians to only purchase “the fuel that they need” and not to “overbuy” which they said was “not the Australian way”.

The leaders said energy ministers and officials were working to coordinate supply updates around the country. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was engaging international counterparts about the continued flow of fuel shipments.

The meeting was briefed by the Director General of the Office of National Intelligence Kathy Klugmann and head of the ASIO Mike Burgess.

Meanwhile the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched an enforcement investigation into claims of anti-competitive behaviour by each of the major fuel suppliers. The investigation covers Ampol Ltd, BP Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, and Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd.

In a statement on Thursday the ACCC said it had received reports about diesel availability to independent wholesalers and distributors servicing regional and rural areas.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: “It is not our usual practice to publicly announce investigations, but given the significance of the issue, the ACCC is confirming this enforcement investigation. We recognise the widespread concerns held by consumers, businesses and farmers about fuel pricing and supply issues arising during the Middle Eastern conflict.”