Portfolio — 31 March 2026
Minister Bowen's 31 March activity was dominated by the fuel supply crisis response: Parliament passed the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Strategic Reserve) Bill 2026, enabling Export Finance Australia to back spot cargo purchases and establishing a Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve covering antimony, gallium and rare earth elements. The Prime Minister simultaneously cut fuel excise by 26 cents per litre and suspended the heavy vehicle road user charge for three months.
In Question Time, the Minister provided granular state-by-state stock-out data, confirmed 3.7 billion litres of fuel contracted to arrive in April aboard more than 53 ships, and attributed supply improvements to the minimum stock obligation release, fuel standard changes, and direct engagement with international counterparts including the Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy.
Across both streams, Bowen consistently emphasised that supply is uninterrupted at the wholesale level while managing public expectations about the pace of price and availability normalisation at the pump.
The official records this note draws on — the raw primary documents themselves, as published.