CCIWA: Business lobby group pushes ambitious wishlist for fuel, fertiliser certainty as Iran crisis deepens

WA’s peak business lobby group is pushing State and Federal Governments with an ambitious wishlist of actions aimed at cushioning the economy from fuel shortages as the US escalates threats against Iran. With a 45-day ceasefire proposal reportedly rejected by Tehran, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has rattled off a string of dramatic measures it deems necessary to prepare for potential fuel rationing. Sharing top of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA’s list is ensuring the regions come first, with fuel distributed as a priority to critically important industries, which would be exempted from any limits. “It is vital that agriculture, trades, healthcare and transport/logistics are considered priority sectors if fuel rationing is introduced,” chief executive Will Golsby said. “There are other areas that will be obvious candidates such as emergency services, resources and public transport.” Businesses operating under fixed-price Federal Government contracts, including NDIS and aged care at home providers, were unable to pass on significant cost increases, Mr Golsby said, suggesting fuel vouchers as a solution. “Businesses in WA were telling us before this crisis began that they were being squeezed by rising costs, and that has escalated dramatically over the course of the last five weeks,” he said. The other top priority was ensuring domestic fuel supply by extending subsidies to Australia’s last two remaining refineries beyond the current cut-off of 2030. Despite producing oil domestically, Australia is dependent on imported fuels for about 80 per cent of its needs, with Ampol’s Lytton facility in Brisbane and Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery accounting for the remainder. Another figure that unsettles CCIWA is the nation’s policy to hold reserves averaging just 30 days across all fuel types. “Ensuring critical fuel supplies are coming in and getting where needed is the number one priority,” Mr Golsby said. CCIWA also wants both levels of Government to immediately convene fertiliser working groups, to discuss increasing imports in a bid to minimise food insecurity. Other ideas pushed by the business group include putting off the payday super guarantee, set to kick in from July 1. “Delaying the start of this will give businesses a bit of time to catch their breath while cashflow is tight,” Mr Golsby said. Another big call is to pause tax collections for small to medium businesses. “There was an amnesty on collecting GST during the COVID pandemic so it’s been done before,” Mr Golsby said. He insisted the wishlist was realistic, with Federal and State Governments under pressure to spread fiscal joy in their budgets next month. “There are practical measures in these recommendations that can be done relatively easily.”