Australia exports raw oil, then imports the refined oil. We import fertiliser that we could produce ourselves. So we already pay a high price for petrol and food.
Then support a war that blocks us from importing processed natural resources. When crises arise, the government says "don't panic", then scrambles to form a plan in emergency meetings.
The cost of corruption is a lot more than money.
@Over2you
I worked at a refinery that was closed down in Australia.
The issue is that refining oil is a volume game. Furthermore, combining volume with producing high value petrochemical feedstocks is where the dollars are made. Australia is the wrong market for high volume, lower cost crude feedstocks (think high sulphur Saudi crude) and producing high value chemical feedstocks.
There is no way any Australian refinery can compete with large Asian refineries, and that's before you take into account the regulatory overhead Australia has, and the costs of equipment to meet tighter fuel standards.
So the only way to remain in the refining game is for the government to give subsidies.
And that is a risk evaluation game. What is the likelihood of an event like what we're experiencing now vs the additional cost to the tax payer for each and every litre processed in country?
Having worked in the sector, if I'm the government, I'm doing the bare minimum subsidy, as the likelihood of a fuel supply event is normally miniscule.....
@MrAndrewD
Thank you for providing less simplistic information on this vexed situation; it’s never as simple as stated without sources or direct experience to draw on. We can learn lessons but US corruption is not one of them. Working better with our neighbours, like Singapore, who can do the volume refining is worthwhile it seems to me. 🙏🏻
Mik
MrAndrewD
Su_G