PAUL AUGÉ, PRESIDENT, BP AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Prime Minister Albanese and Mr Bowen. It's great to be here today. Today's announcement is all about making sure that Australia has the fuel it needs when it needs it, and also at a time of increased uncertainty and volatility. Thank you, Government, for the responsiveness that they have demonstrated. And the work with the EFA is a demonstration of the Government's action to make sure Australia has the fuel it needs.
Under the Albanese Government’s new Strategic Reserve powers, a further 200 million litres of additional diesel for Australia has been secured, and work has commenced with leading fertiliser companies to secure more supply at this critical time in the growing season.
The Government has partnered with BP Australia and continued our partnership with Viva Energy, taking the total additional diesel secured in the last seven days to approximately 300 million litres or over 1.8 million additional barrels to keep Australia moving.
SARAH FERGUSON, HOST: Prime Minister, welcome to 7.30.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good evening. Good to be with you, Sarah.
FERGUSON: The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is volatile, as well as in the Gulf, and thinking about the last time a deal was done with the Iranians over their over their nuclear program, it took a very long time. So, speaking frankly, how bad could the consequences get for Australians?
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning. Shortly, Minister Bowen will provide his weekly update on the Australian Government's Minimum Stockpile Obligation and some broader updates as well. But it certainly has been a very busy week. Last night, I joined the Strait of Hormuz Freedom of Navigation Summit that was hosted by President Macron of France, Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom, and also in person, Chancellor Merz of Germany, and also Giorgia Meloni of Italy.
RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Welcome everyone today to the Viva refinery in Corio. Obviously, we wish we were here under better circumstances, but we are very pleased to have here, today, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Energy, Libby Coker, the Member for Corangamite, Ella George, who is the Member for Lara, and Scott Wyatt, the CEO of Viva, and Bill Patterson as well. We are enormously thankful that in the midst of all that has occurred here, there have been no injuries as a result of the incident.
THE HON ANWAR IBRAHIM, PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA: We are really encountering post normal times. We discussed this. Developments are unanticipated and continue to haunt us because we are not able to fairly and squarely craft an agenda forward, because many of these issues are quite unresolved. Disruptions to production and supply chains. So, the world certainly looks different today, Prime Minister, than it did when you were here in Kuala Lumpur last October. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for nearly seven weeks.
The Albanese Labor Government has worked with industry and the Indonesian Government to facilitate 250,000 tonnes of additional agricultural grade urea for Australian farmers from Indonesia.
This deal, between Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and PT Pupuk Indonesia, supported by the Australian and Indonesian Governments, facilitates around 20 per cent of the remaining fertiliser needed for the current season.
The Government is working closely with Australia’s key international partners and domestic industry to secure critical additional fertiliser supply.
The Albanese Labor Government has secured approximately 100 million litres of additional diesel for Australians, with two shipments coming from Brunei and South Korea.
This is the first of the expected shipments of fuel secured under the Government’s new Strategic Reserve powers.
Under these new powers, Export Finance Australia (EFA) has partnered with Viva Energy to make this purchase of more than 570,000 barrels of additional diesel possible.
Malaysia and Australia are deeply connected and share a longstanding friendship supported by our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
We have a common interest in ensuring our region’s prosperity, security, stability and economic future. Our close relationship is grounded in strategic trust, and a mutual commitment to open markets and rules-based trade.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: I'm very pleased to be here in Brunei on my first official visit, and there's no more important time to engage with our neighbours than the current time. The conflict in the Middle East is a long way away, but it's having an impact particularly in Asia, in our own region, because of the relationship of suppliers that come through the Strait of Hormuz and that disruption that has occurred and the uncertainty that is there with regard to a resolution to this conflict. Australia wants to see a de-escalation.