In short:
Regional communities across Australia are feeling a "disproportionate impact" from high fuel prices, an expert says.
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expert → feel → prices
The recent re-escalation of the war in the Middle East has led to another rise in petrol and diesel costs.
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escalation → lead → costs
A strategic policy specialist says increased fuel storage in the regions could help mitigate supply risks.
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storage → say → risks
While delivering water to properties in regional New South Wales, Dave Henry has felt the pinch of rising diesel prices.
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Henry → deliver → prices
Mr Henry operates a water cartage service across New England and the state's north-west, and has noticed diesel prices rising in the past few weeks to nearly $3 per litre.
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prices → operate → litre
"It's really impacting our profitability and bottom line," he said.
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he → impact → profitability
Mr Henry has made the difficult choice to pass that extra cost on to customers.
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Henry → make → customers
"People, with the drought conditions, are already struggling to get from week to week.
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People → struggle → week
Having to find a chunk of money to buy a load of water for some people is becoming increasingly difficult," he said.
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he → have → people
The recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has caused fuel prices to rise again.
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prices → cause → East
In August, the federal government cut its fuel excise reduction.
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government → cut → reduction
It is not just regional industries that are hurting; families are impacted too.
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families → hurt → ?
Kate Gotowski lives in a regional area in southern Tasmania and drives almost two hours a day between home, work and the school drop-offs.
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Gotowski → live → home
She spends up to $150 a week on fuel, which she said was having a major impact on her family's budget.
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she → spend → budget
"There are daily decisions about whether we do extra things as a family [and] what we're spending our money on," she said.
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she → be → money
"We've got to prioritise working and employment and getting the kids to school."
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We → get → school
Ms Gotowski said her family chose to live outside of Hobart for housing affordability, but it was "ironic now" because they were being "punished with the cost of fuel".
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they → say → fuel
Regions' disproportionate impact
Strategic policy specialist Andrew Henderson, principal of AgSecure and a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, has investigated Australia's supply chains and the war in the Middle East.
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Henderson → investigate → East
If you're in a regional area and you're a high-volume user, you're relying on trucks and transport tankers to transport that fuel," he said.
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he → rely → fuel
"Now, with a reduced amount of regional fuel storage capacity that used to exist 20 and 30 years ago, that becomes a significant risk because you can physically run out sooner."
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you → reduce → capacity
Mr Henderson said fuel prices were forecast to rise.
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prices → say → ?
"The reason that it has a disproportionate impact on rural and regional Australia is simply by virtue of the tyranny of distance,"he said.
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it → say → distance,"he
"People who live in the regions have to physically travel more and travel further to be able to do basic things that a lot of people in the city take for granted."
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lot → live → city
Hobby farmer Ryan Taylor can relate.
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Taylor → relate → ?
"I've got about [half a hectare] of lawn to mow.
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I → get → lawn
That uses a hell of a lot more fuel than a standard suburban backyard," he said.
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he → use → backyard
"Your food costs more because to transport the food to the supermarket the costs are going up, and they're passing that on to us.
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they → cost → us
Also, to physically go and get the food, it's costing more money as well.
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it → go → money
"
Mr Taylor said he was reliant on fuel to keep his property in Tasmania's north ticking over.
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property → say → north
"Fuel has pretty much erased any profit that we can get from this farm at the moment,"he said.
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we → erase → moment,"he
"We're certainly lucky here that we don't derive a huge income from this farm and it's not our only source of income, but talking to farmers around the place, they're really starting to struggle."
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they → derive → place
The Aporia
