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Australia news live: refinery fire will not lead to tougher fuel restrictions, PM says, though petrol production down by 40% at plant | Australia news
Viva oil refinery fire results in 40% cut in petrol production at plant, PM says
Albanese says he has spoken to the workers at the oil refinery near Geelong after a large fire at the facility, which supplies half of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of Australia’s.
He said the fire has temporarily affected the plant’s production capability and did not give a timeline on when it would be back to normal.
The blaze at the Viva Energy facility in Corio – one of two refineries left in the country – broke out just after 11pm Wednesday, with Fire Rescue Victoria alerted to the blaze by multiple calls to triple zero reporting explosions and flames.
Speaking at the refinery, Albanese thanked the staff and firefighters for their work to contain the fire.
He said the blaze was “regrettable”, especially given the timing, but:
The advice that we have received today is that 80% of diesel production is continuing, 80% of aviation fuel is continuing, ongoing.
It has been slowed down just slightly because of the circumstances which are there, but 60% of petrol production [is] proceeding today as well.
We hope that … that ramps up over the coming period as well.
Key events
Albanese says no new requests from the US, bats away further Trump questions
Albanese was also asked about Donald Trump’s fresh criticism overnight, after the US president again said Australia hadn’t done enough to help help him in the Middle East war.
Trump told reporters early this morning (AEST) that he was “not happy” with Australia because of what he sees as its reluctance to assist US efforts in the Middle East.
Asked at the press conference at the Corio refinery what Trump had meant, Albanese said it was a question for the US president.
Albanese said:
There’s been no new requests at all.
Albanese batted away further questions about Trump, including whether the US had made any “informal” requests of Australia.
Corio refinery fire will not lead to tougher fuel restrictions, PM says
The PM has also assured Australians that the Corio refinery fire will not push the country into “stage 3” of the national fuel plan.
Announced late last month, the plan has four levels: 1) plan and prepare; 2) keeping Australia moving; 3) taking targeted action; and 4) protecting critical services for all Australians.
Australia is at level 2, with fuel supply continuing notwithstanding periods of localised supply disruptions.
Under this setting, motorists are encouraged to “only buy the fuel you need”. The plan says making voluntary choices will use less fuel and help consumers avoid the impact of higher fuel prices.
Levels 3 and 4 include tougher conditions designed to prioritise fuel supply to the regions and critical industries.
Albanese said:
The government’s put in place the four stages in order to plan, and in order to prepare for circumstances which are predominantly impacted by global events, not by events here.
The event here will not lead to any change – we will give an update tomorrow about fuel supplies that are on hand.
The fact that 60% of petrol production is continuing is actually very positive, given the circumstances people have seen … we all saw the visuals of what was a serious fire.
BP signs on to government underwriting scheme to get extra fuel
The prime minister also announced BP would join the government’s underwriting scheme to get extra fuel into the country.
Late last month, the government announced it would take on the financial risk of additional imports of essential products affected by the war in the Middle East, to get extra supplies of petrol, diesel and fertiliser into the country.
The new measures aim to give private importers the confidence to secure extra supply by mitigating the financial risk.
Speaking alongside the prime minister at the Corio refinery, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, said BP was “raring to go”.
Bowen said BP will join Viva Energy – the owner of the Corio refinery and operator of the multinational Shell petroleum brand in Australia – Ampol, IOR and Park, who have already agreed to join the program.
Mobil, BP, Ampol and Viva Energy supply about 85% of Australia’s liquid fuels.
Bowen also said he wanted to reassure Australians about the Corio fire and that:
While this is an event that everyone would wish hadn’t happened and was really bad timing, [it] really is being managed as best as it possibly can.
Australia secures extra fertilizer and 100m extra litres of fuel, PM says
Albanese has also provided an update on Australia’s talks with its allies in Asia to shore up imports of fuel and other goods affected by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The PM, who returned early from his trip to Malaysia to inspect the damage at the Corio refinery, said Australia was able to secure 100m litres of fuel combined in two lots from Brunei and South Korea in the past 24 hours.
In addition to that, he said Indonesia had agreed to supply enough urea – a nitrogen based fertilizer – to meet 20% of Australia’s needs in addition to what was already available.
Viva oil refinery fire results in 40% cut in petrol production at plant, PM says
Albanese says he has spoken to the workers at the oil refinery near Geelong after a large fire at the facility, which supplies half of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of Australia’s.
He said the fire has temporarily affected the plant’s production capability and did not give a timeline on when it would be back to normal.
The blaze at the Viva Energy facility in Corio – one of two refineries left in the country – broke out just after 11pm Wednesday, with Fire Rescue Victoria alerted to the blaze by multiple calls to triple zero reporting explosions and flames.
Speaking at the refinery, Albanese thanked the staff and firefighters for their work to contain the fire.
He said the blaze was “regrettable”, especially given the timing, but:
The advice that we have received today is that 80% of diesel production is continuing, 80% of aviation fuel is continuing, ongoing.
It has been slowed down just slightly because of the circumstances which are there, but 60% of petrol production [is] proceeding today as well.
We hope that … that ramps up over the coming period as well.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Corio, Victoria. He returned early from his overseas trip after a fire at an oil refinery in the town near Geelong.
I’ll bring you more details from the press conference in a moment.
Marles says Trump has not made a ‘specific request’ relating to the strait of Hormuz
Marles, who is doing the media rounds this morning, has just been interviewed on ABC Radio National, where he said Trump has not made a “specific request” of Australia regarding the strait of Hormuz.
Marles said:
We’ve not received a specific request in relation to the strait of Hormuz, but we’ll work with all partners, our allies, and that very much includes the US in terms of whatever needs to be done in relation to the strait of Hormuz.
Marles said Australia needed the crucial shipping channel to reopen and suggested it would “contribute” to an operation to make that happen when the time was right:
We’ve been working with the US.
We’ve been working with countries like the UK, with France.
I mean, the planning that is being done in respect of any particular operation there is obviously one which is dependent on when circumstances allow such an operation to happen and that’s not the circumstances we’ve got right now.
And so, you know, we need to wait for that, but we will be seeking to contribute in whatever is the best way that we can. And we’ve made that clear.
He also said – again – that he would not “get into a running commentary on what the US president says”, when asked if Australia was getting tired of Trump’s repeated criticisms.
Marles says relationship with US ‘deeply matters’, dodging questions about Trump
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, says Australia’s relationship with the US “deeply matters”, while avoiding weighing in on Donald Trump’s latest comments.
Marles has just been interviewed on ABC News – after Trump overnight renewed his accusations Australia has not helping the US enough in the Middle East – where he was asked of the president:
When he criticises Australia, when he posts AI generated images of himself looking like Jesus. When he picks fights with the Pope. Do you believe that that undermines the trust that Australians have in the relationship?
Marles replied:
Look, I’m not going to give a running commentary on the president’s social media posts.
Our relationship with the US deeply matters.
The government has mostly been very careful in sticking to a strategy of not buying into Trump’s comments and social media posts – which is why you’ll have heard so many Labor ministers say they won’t “offer a running commentary” whenever they’re asked about the president.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, responded more directly last week after Trump threatened the widespread bombing of civilian infrastructure in Iran if the regime did not surrender, which you can read more about here:
‘Not happy’: Trump renews accusations Australia hasn’t done enough in Middle East war
To start things off for your Friday, we have some news from the US overnight, where the president, Donald Trump, has renewed his accusations that Australia has not done enough to help him in the Middle East war.
Trump made the comments while taking questions from reporters, including Australian correspondents, as he left the White House on Thursday (early this morning AEST).
In footage the president said:
Well, I’m not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there.
Pressed by a journalist on what he had asked Australia for, Trump did not answer directly but said:
They were not there having to do with Hormuz. So I’m not happy, I’m not happy with them.
Despite the reporters on the ground clamouring for more answers, Trump did not respond to their further shouted questions about what he had wanted from Australia and whether he still had a good relationship with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
The exchange began when a journalist asked Trump if he was satisfied with Australia’s increased defence expenditure.
As the government announced yesterday, Labor will spend an extra $53bn on defence over the next decade, using the nation’s latest military blueprint to create new special investment programs to fund increases in capability using private capital.
Existing budget settings have Australia’s spending on track to be about 2.03% of GDP, rising to about 2.3 to 2.4% by 2033 under the new plans.
Trump had demanded American allies spend as much as 3.5% of GDP on their own defence, to reduce reliance on the US.
You can read more about Australia’s new defence plan here:
Catie McLeod
Good morning, I’m taking over from Martin Farrer and will be with you on the blog bringing you all the live news until this afternoon.
Government secures 250,000 tonnes of urea for fertiliser
Josh Butler
An extra 250,000 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea for fertiliser will come to Australia from Indonesia, under a new deal supported by the federal government.
That’s around 20% of the fertiliser needed for the current planting season for Australian farmers, according to the Albanese government.
The arrangement was agreed by Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and PT Pupuk Indonesia, and supported by the Australian and Indonesian governments. The Albanese government has been seeking to support extra fuel and fertiliser supplies to replace those disrupted or cancelled by the Middle East conflict, with the news coming a day after the prime minister announced 100 million extra litres of diesel contracted from South Korea and Brunei.
That amount is little over a day’s worth of the diesel Australia consumes, but Anthony Albanese has foreshadowed more deals coming soon.
“This is a significant outcome for our farmers. We understand how critical fertiliser is for Australian farmers, for our food production system and the food security of our region,” Albanese said of the fertiliser news.
This deal also shows why it’s critically important that we have strong relationships with our regional partners.
Agriculture minister Julie Collins said the government had been “working day and night” to secure more fertiliser supply.
While this is a commercial deal, the Australian and Indonesian Governments have been working to support this positive outcome … This will mean Australia can continue to play an important role supporting food security in Indonesia and our region at a time of global uncertainty.
Albanese flies home early after refinery fire
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese cut short his fuel security visit to Malaysia last night after a massive fire at one of Australia’s two remaining fuel refineries.
The prime minister had been scheduled to arrive back in Sydney late tonight, but instead flew through the night to visit Geelong early this morning.
He will visit the Viva Energy site with the energy minister, Chris Bowen, and the defence minister and local MP, Richard Marles.
While the fire only damaged part of the facility, there are fears it could add to fuel shortages from the war in Iran, particularly in parts of Victoria.
An assessment of the fire’s impact on fuel supply is expected in coming days.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Catie McLeod with the main action.
Anthony Albanese cut short his fuel security visit to Malaysia last night after a massive fire at one of Australia’s two remaining fuel refineries. He will visit the Geelong refinery this morning. We’ll bring you updates about that through the morning.
An extra 250,000 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea for fertiliser will come to Australia from Indonesia under a new deal supported by the federal government. More details coming up.
