Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Aus’ ‘voluntary starvation’ in energy crisis Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet news.com.au Media type Web Country/Territory Australia Date 25/06/26 Description This article reports the deployment of approximately $2.099 billion from Australia's National Interest Account through Export Finance Australia to secure diesel and fertiliser during the energy crisis, allocated across Ampol, BP Australia and Viva Energy under contracts for difference, alongside recent amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act excluding fossil fuel projects from national interest fast-tracking. It canvasses the resulting political contest, with the Nationals leader characterising the position as a policy of voluntary starvation and arguing for domestic self-sufficiency in oil and fertiliser, against ministerial responses citing the commercial failure of earlier Great Australian Bight exploration licences. The piece further reports concern over rising retail energy charges, the 20 per cent domestic gas reservation announced in the May budget, $10 billion committed to fuel and fertiliser supplies and the emergency stockpile, and the securing of roughly 800 million litres of diesel and 155 million litres of jet fuel across nineteen shipments. An embedded video explainer on European fuel cargoes, presented by Danielle Collis, draws on data supplied by Dr Lurion De Mello of the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre. Producer/Author Heath Parkes-Hupton Persons Lurion De Mello