Portfolio — 28 June 2026

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen used a media release to present a detailed fuel security stocktake, with the headline figures showing Australia holds 44 days of petrol, 37 days of diesel and 29 days of jet fuel — all above the levels recorded at the moment Iran was bombed [TA-260627-climat-223f04387d13]. Diesel and jet fuel stocks are marginally lower than the prior week but remain within what the minister characterised as a solid supply range.

The government has ordered approximately 800 million litres of diesel and several hundred million litres of jet fuel, with multiple shipments already received; 48 ships are currently en route carrying 3.6 billion litres of fuel for delivery over the next four weeks [TA-260627-climat-223f04387d13].

Bowen's central political argument was a direct contrast with the Opposition and minor parties: One Nation called for fuel rationing and the Liberals said rationing was inevitable, but the government urged Australians to purchase only what they need [TA-260627-climat-223f04387d13]. This positioning — calm management against predicted crisis — runs through the entire release.

The government is working with industry to maintain fuel availability despite ongoing Middle East turbulence [TA-260627-climat-223f04387d13], and Bowen flagged that storage constraints, not supply shortfalls, are causing some tankers including the Grand Winner Five to wait offshore before offloading.

On excise, Bowen announced a gradual return to normal fuel excise arrangements, following what the release described as the previous week's announcement. The direction of the adjustment was not specified further in the source record.

Beyond fuel, the release addressed two separate matters. Australia continues its $20 million annual contribution to UNRWA and expects the agency to investigate any allegations of terrorism links — a statement that spans the Climate and Energy and Foreign Affairs domains. Bowen also called on airlines to keep ticket pricing fair amid international turbulence, and consular officials are separately assessing the impact of recent Venezuelan earthquakes on Australians.

The breadth of the release — fuel logistics, excise policy, airline pricing, humanitarian aid and consular affairs — reflects a media conference format rather than a targeted ministerial announcement. The dominant signal is the fuel security update: the government is managing a supply situation under geopolitical pressure and is actively pushing back on opposition characterisations that a rationing scenario was at hand.