Australia must take fuel security seriously

Within days of the latest conflict erupting, prices had already begun creeping up and questions were again being asked about how secure our fuel supply really was. For agriculture, those questions remain very real.

On a cane farm, fuel isn't optional - it's essential. Tractors, harvesters, haul-out vehicles and trucks all rely on it. If supply tightens or prices spike, the effects move quickly through the entire production chain.

Australia imports the vast majority of the fuel we use. Much of it travels long and complicated routes through parts of the world that are often politically volatile. When tensions flare in those regions, the consequences are soon felt at the bowser here at home.

With the sugarcane harvest only a few months away, it's already something growers and contractors are thinking about. Harvesting and hauling a crop takes a lot of diesel - and uncertainty around supply is the last thing anyone needs heading into a season.

Moments like this are a reminder that fuel security deserves far more attention than it receives.

Australia can't control events overseas - but we can reduce our exposure to them. Strengthening domestic fuel production should be part of that discussion.

Biofuels such as ethanol are one practical option. Ethanol produced from Australian crops like sugarcane can replace a portion of imported petrol while supporting regional industries and strengthening domestic supply.

A properly enforced national E10 mandate would be a sensible place to start. Most petrol vehicles on Australian roads can already run on E10 - meaning motorists wouldn't need to change their behaviour.

Producing more of our own fuel will not eliminate global shocks - but it would make Australia less vulnerable to them.