Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, says the news that Incitec Pivot will ramp up production of Australia’s supply of AdBlue (diesel additive for trucks) is music to his ears but urged the Federal Government to back the Sovereign Fuel Security Bill to ensure all fuel supplies are secure in Australia. Mr Katter said that he had spoken to Chief Executive Officer, Jeanne Johns, today, who confirmed they would be able to meet Australia’s AdBlue requirements for at least the next 12 months. “She confirmed to me that the Government had supplied an amount of money to be able to expand production and expand to meet Australia’s current requirements.

Incitec Pivot has announced plans to close one of Australia’s largest fertiliser plants at the end of next year.
The closure of the Gibson Island plant in Brisbane is set to cost 170 jobs. The duopoly LNP/ALP federal government, kowtowing to international CO2 emission agreements set emissions figures too high forcing the closure of a number of industries particularly coal-fired electricity.

“Nothing was happening, no one had contacted her until we got onto the Prime Minister. “It just shows you what ordinary people can do. Clynton Hawks, our Candidate for Herbert, raised the red flag months ago and the Government sat on it. “But we wouldn’t have had to comment at all if the Government would have acted. Assurances that the Minister was setting up a taskforce I found to be anything but reassuring. “The problem was obvious, and we brought the solutions. We demanded government action and laid down the pathway. Full credit for this win must go to Clynton.”

Mr Katter warned that this demonstrated how vulnerable Australia was to foreign influence on our fuel supplies and it was essential both sides of Government got behind the Sovereign Fuel Security Bill. “If there was ever a flashing warning light, this is it. China successfully cut off an essential fuel. “Our crossbench legislation on sovereign fuel security will deliver up to 90 per cent of Australia’s fuel requirements. It will deliver security of supply of diesel, petrol, and aviation fuel to the Australian public.

“It provides a pathway for ensuring that the refining and manufacture of fuel is to be owned by Australians – not like the port of Darwin or the Port of Newcastle, half of the electricity industry and a monopoly of solar panels – all Chinese owned. “This legislation provides a pathway for turning our metropolitan waste – tyres, plastics, and other waste – into fuels like diesel and it fosters Australia’s automotive manufacturing sector by ensuring all government contract electric vehicles, and their component parts, are built in Australian owned factories by Australians.

“So, whether this event with AdBlue is a world shortage of Urea or just another hit upon Australia by a threatening middle kingdom (China), it is a glaring neon light and proves Australia’s needs fuel sovereignty and fuel security.”

Clynton Hawks – KAP Candidate for Herbert who is a trucking operator, said he welcomed the news but agreed that the Federal Government’s measures didn’t go far enough. “The announcement is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough in the here and now,” he said.

“We’re still going to have a shortage because of how long it’s going to take for them to ramp up production.“I applaud the Government for finally waking up to the severity of the issue, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Federal Government needs to see this as a wake-up call because I’ve never in my lifetime seen trucks being parked up and AdBlue bowsers shut off. “The AdBlue crisis is Australia’s canary in the coal mine moment.“Incite Pivot do 10 per cent of Australia’s AdBlue, but we’ve got 90 to go. The question everyone wants to know is how we get to that 100 per cent.

“We shouldn’t need a crisis for the Australian Government to act on fuel security. “The fuel sovereign fuel security bill puts the pieces in place for Australia to become 100 per cent self-sufficient in meeting our country’s fuel needs,” he said.