State and territory leaders will hold another national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis, but the prime minister insists Australia’s petrol security level will not be increased.
Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will meet with premiers and chief ministers in early May, the week before the federal budget is handed down.
He said on Wednesday regular meetings of state and territory leaders were designed to quell concern, rather than ramp up fuel security measures.
“One of the reasons why we’ll meet again next week, and we met last week, is just to stop the panic,” he told a Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA event in Perth.
“We’ll work through all of those issues, but our objective is to do everything we can to not shift levels.”
Australia is currently sitting at level two of a four-level plan, where precautionary measures to conserve fuel are encouraged.
Increasing to level three would mean further measures are put in place to save petrol and diesel.
Mr Albanese said any move to a higher level of fuel security would be signalled well in advance, rather than made as a snap decision at a national cabinet meeting.
“We know that supplies are firm right through May, into June,” he said.
“That’s the point (of) having regular meetings every fortnight, so that people don’t go, ‘oh my goodness, there’s a national cabinet meeting’.”
The prime minister said he was confident the nation could emerge stronger from the fuel crisis.
“You’ll see further announcements in coming days about securing supplies from our region,” he said.
Mr Albanese is slated to hold talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Canberra on Monday, where fuel and energy will be on the agenda.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is also set to meet with her Chinese counterpart on energy supply.
It comes as Australian drivers could be in for a pleasant surprise at the bowser, after the United Arab Emirates decided to walk away from the world’s largest oil cartel.
The gulf nation has announced plans to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries from the start of May.
OPEC is a group of oil-producing nations, which coordinate production levels to maximise profits. It controls almost 80 per cent of the world’s proven reserves and produces around 40 per cent of global oil supply.
The UAE has long chafed at OPEC’s limits on its production, wanting to export much more oil to the world.
The country’s decision to quit the grouping would likely lead to cheaper petrol, but not until the Strait of Hormuz reopens, NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told AAP.
“This frees (the UAE) up to increase their production. They have significant reserves and can do so,” he said.
“That’s a positive thing for Australian drivers, because it will put downward pressure on global oil prices in the longer term.”
The coalition has defended its new energy policy, which would force fuel companies to stockpile more petrol and diesel while pushing prices at the bowser up by around one cent a litre.
“We think that’s a reasonable premium to get another 30 days of storage,” Nationals Leader Matt Canavan told Nine’s Today program.
Senator Canavan said the coalition would also push to build a new refinery near Gladstone in Queensland to bolster Australia’s fuel security.