00:01We've got a distribution issue, not a supply issue.
00:05The state government was very clear on that.
00:07It's primarily diesel distribution in the regional areas.
00:11What we're seeing is some panic buying, some stockpiling.
00:16That's causing prices to go up rapidly.
00:19We're seeing over $3 a litre in some regional areas.
00:22So the government's confident they don't have a supply issue at the moment, but they are
00:27keeping a close eye on this because they know that in the months that come that this could
00:33become more of an issue and could become a supply issue.
00:36So the message I guess from the state government at the moment was to stay calm and keep doing
00:41what we're doing.
00:42We heard from the New South Wales Energy Minister Penny Sharp earlier today saying that they
00:45are dealing with the matters at hand, but also planning for the worst case scenario should
00:50that happen.
00:51And that would then be, you would presume, supply.
00:53What have they discussed about whether this is a protracted issue and supply does become
00:57an issue?
00:59Look, I don't know that anyone knows the answer to that at the moment, given the world events.
01:04So they were pretty coy on that.
01:06However, they were very careful to say that they are planning for a lot of contingency situations
01:14so that we can keep operating as an economy here in New South Wales.
01:18I mean, what we'd like to see is pretty consistent messaging to everybody so that we're not panic
01:23buying, so we're still doing what we do in everyday life.
01:28We have some concerns that people are starting to pull back.
01:33We don't want to accidentally sleepwalk into a COVID pandemic here.
01:37We have a distribution issue, not a supply issue at the moment.
01:41And we need people to go on their Easter holidays and do all the things that they were normally
01:45going to do.
01:46Sure.
01:46So I guess that's the messaging issue that you've discussed there, Daniel.
01:49But what about other material outcomes that you'd like to see from this meeting?
01:54Look, I think what we need is the suppliers to make sure that there's a fair distribution
02:01going on, particularly we heard from the independent retailers in the regions and the independent
02:06fuel retailers in the regions are often the only game in town.
02:10So we need to make sure that they're getting a fair supply and we need to make sure that pricing
02:14regulators are also keeping an eye on things so that we're not getting price gouging and
02:19things like that.
02:20So if we see these prices continue, then businesses are going to hurt and consumers are going to
02:26hurt.
02:27Anything over $3 a litre for diesel fuel is a real problem.
02:32With respect to distribution, we know that there's some of those smaller petrol suppliers
02:37are the ones that are really feeling the pinch at the moment.
02:39They're the ones that might not necessarily have longer term contracts in place.
02:44How do you support them?
02:47Look, again, I think that comes into government pressure and government pressure on their suppliers
02:52to make sure that this is fair.
02:55We don't advocate necessarily for government to interfere with supply and for any price
03:00capping or things like that.
03:01But we do need them to bring pressure to bear to make sure that independent retailers are
03:06getting their fair share of fuel because, again, if they are the only game in town, we simply
03:13cannot have people and businesses and farmers running out of fuel.
03:17Daniel Hunter from Business New South Wales.
03:19We'll let you get back to talks.
03:21Thanks for stepping out.
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