00:02For the past two weeks, the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has been jetting around
00:06Asia doing gas for fuel deals, offering other governments secure supplies of gas in return
00:11for petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
00:14But how the hell did resource-rich Australia get into this pickle, where the PM has to
00:19go around cap in hand to keep our cars and trucks on the road and our planes in the air?
00:24Two reasons.
00:25First, over several decades, our explorers gradually stopped looking for oil and looked
00:31for gas instead, which is why Anthony Albanese has gas to trade for fuel.
00:36In the 1970s, Australia produced 70% of its own oil.
00:40Now 90% is imported and we're the second biggest gas exporter.
00:45Is there any more oil to find?
00:47Well maybe, but if you don't look, you won't find.
00:50The second reason is that we used to have 10 oil refineries.
00:55Now there are two.
00:56One by one, eight of them closed.
00:59And despite an energy white paper in 2004 that warned we'd be caught short one day, the government
01:05did not have the stomach or the money to keep them going.
01:10Now we import most of our refined fuel and the two remaining refineries in Geelong and
01:15Brisbane import almost all of the oil they process.
01:18And by the way, those last two refineries are pretty marginal.
01:22They could close any day.
01:24And the government?
01:25Well, under the International Energy Program signed in 1974, Australia agreed to always
01:32keep at least 90 days of last year's oil imports on hand.
01:35But for more than a decade, we've been the only country to consistently fail to do that.
01:41And when the Strait of Hormuz closed seven weeks ago, we had less than half of that.
01:46Which is why the Prime Minister is doing an Oliver Twist.
01:49Asking for more, please.
01:51.
01:51.
01:51.
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