GET READY WA: Cook warns tougher fuel restrictions are coming
Western Australian motorists are being told to brace for tighter fuel restrictions, with Premier Roger Cook signalling that the State's options are narrowing.
Speaking ahead of another volatile trading week for global oil markets, Mr Cook has been frank about what lies ahead for households and industries already reeling from months of disruption to Australia's fuel supply chain.
The country importing roughly 85 per cent of its fuel needs and increasingly exposed to movements in a global market running on frayed nerves.
Analysts at AMP and Oxford Economics have now issued a stark warning: if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within the coming weeks, oil could surge to US$150 a barrel.
At that level manufacturing, freight and tourism would be hit hardest, and almost certainly flow through to punishing prices at WA bowsers.
The fresh warning comes on top of the extraordinary measures the State Government has already rolled out since the conflict erupted in late February.
In early April, Mr Cook activated emergency powers under the Emergency Management Act 2005 (WA) after fuel suppliers initially refused to hand over critical supply chain data the Government said it needed to manage shortages in regional WA.
Mining and agricultural operations in parts of the State had already reported intermittent fuel disruptions by the time the powers were invoked.
Only half of the private fuel companies initially complied with the Government's data requests.
"We must take these extraordinary measures to ensure we have the necessary visibility over fuel stocks, shipments, and deliveries across the state," Mr Cook said at the time.
The Premier has also been clear that rationing remains a genuine option if the supply picture deteriorates, though he has described it as a measure of last resort.
Meanwhile, the FuelWatch scheme has been overhauled and expanded.
From May 1, 2026, every fuel retailer in WA, including an extra 200 regional outlets previously outside the scheme will now be required to report pricing and supply data.
Penalties for retailers who fail to comply have already been quadrupled from $1,000 to $4,000, with the Government indicating further enforcement escalation is on the table.
The global situation remains grim.
The US has confirmed its blockade of Iranian ports will be enforced impartially, with Iran retaliating by threatening to charge tolls of more than $1 million per ship transiting the strait.
With two Indian-flagged tankers attacked in the Strait over the weekend, the risk of a prolonged disruption — and a genuine WA fuel crunch — is rising fast.
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