Newsroom

March 25, 2026

KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today joined independent Parliamentarians from across Australia to demand the urgent implementation of self-sufficient national fuel solutions that properly protect families, farmers, transport and regional industries from being crippled by global oil crises.

Together, the North Queensland MP and fellow crossbenchers – from the country electorates of Mayo in South Australia and Calare in New South Wales, along with the Hobart-based MP for Clark, and the Western Sydney MP for Fowler – today outlined a number of domestic fuel security solutions that the Government has refused to take up in recent weeks, including:

• empowering the Treasurer to control fuel prices instead of ‘monitoring’ price-gouging;
• immediately suspending the 52c fuel excise tax on every litre sold at the bowser;
• restoring our neglected refining capabilities and strengthening liquid fuel reserves; and
• investing in the structural transition to biofuels by securing our domestic supply of renewable ethanol-blended petrol and biodiesel, while supporting thriving rural and regional industries.

“For decades, governments have avoided the enforcement of meagre state mandates for Australian-made biofuels and – unlike most other countries – have failed to implement a national mandate to secure our renewable supply of ethanol-blended petrol,” said Mr Katter after his third question on fuel security in as many Parliamentary sitting weeks, to both the Treasurer and the Prime Minister.

Mr Katter said Australia’s fuel vulnerability today was a direct result of successive governments’ repeated rejections of our own sustainable ethanol manufacturing industry to deliver cheaper petrol with fewer carcinogenic tailpipe pollutants and, in turn, future-proof our agricultural communities.

“The biggest oil crisis the world has ever seen impels the immediate enforcement, in full, of existing ethanol and biodiesel mandates in Queensland and New South Wales – along with urgent expansion to 10 per cent ethanol-blended petrol nationally – to ensure we use all that we grow in thriving regional industries, whilst reducing our dangerous reliance on dirtier, imported fuels that cost Australians dearly to deliver super-profits to our foreign overlords.”

He questioned the Treasurer on why Government refused to ban Australia’s oil exports – “which earn a measly $8,000 million whilst imported fuel costs us $62,000 million” – when “30 per cent of our fuel needs could be supplied by existing reserves without even tapping oil shales” located in Queensland.

And, given Australia’s position as a global big-four producer of grain and sugar as the natural feedstocks of ethanol, then “why no action?” asked Mr Katter. “Ethanol can right now supply three per cent of Australia's demand. Additionally, four of the recently closed refineries can easily be recommissioned. Why, on these three obvious initiatives, has the Government done nothing?”

While the Treasurer confirmed that “locally produced fuel is a big part of the Government's efforts” to respond to the Middle East war impacts on international fuel supply chains and domestically, he said “the relevant departments and authorities are working to see whether we could implement (a national ethanol mandate) in the future (as) all about supporting our local fuels industry”.

His comments followed similar statements today by the Energy Minister when questioned by media about implementing a greater 15-20 per cent mandated ethanol content in petrol nationwide. Confirming to reporters the Government’s consideration of “suggestions around ethanol”, the Minister said he was “not in a position to announce them or, indeed, say that they might happen (as) I take everything through the Fuel Quality Committee first before announcing it”.

Image: SETTING THE HOUSE ON FIRE: Demanding a long-overdue national ethanol-blended petrol mandate among fuel security solutions at  Parliament House today, North Queensland MP Bob Katter, Member for Kennedy (centre) joined fellow independent Federal MPs (from left) Andrew Wilkie (Member for Clark), Rebekha Sharkie (Member for Mayo), Andrew Gee (Member for Calare) and Dai Le (Member for Fowler).