The CV-18 debacle and the developing economic war between the USA & China should be a wake-up call for us all. Forget toilet paper & hand sanitiser; whatif our suupply of oil was cut off? Just think about it?
China is bolstering its shipping supply routes under OBOR project where piplines between Pakistan SW China & Mymar to SW China are being designed to prevent the USA from blocking the Straits of Malacca and starving China of fuel. Similarily China is building islands in the South China Sea to protect its supply lines from Australia ( ironically) Indonesia and SE asia from a US naval blocade.
We have the ability to being petrol & diesel self sufficient but the multinationals have put te screws on us since Little Johnie was elected in 1997.
At that time Australia was an exporter of oil and due to the Costello sweetheart deal with the multinational oil companies then to set our diesel
and petrol prices outside Australia and outside the jurisdiction of the ACCC. Not bad payback for political donations eh?
https://www.worldometers.info/oil/australia-oil/We are now over a barrel (no pun intended) and perhaps the best solution is to nationalise our petroleom refining and a carrot to Aussie pertoleum
producers to pull out their finger and supply crude oil. If that does'nt work, then nationalise onshore oil reserves and drill for more.
Norway & Brazil has nationalised their petroleum production which places them in an advantageous position should this silly Trump led US-China economic war develop further.
Historically we have had:
tariffs.............then import prohibitions.........then trade embargoes supported by navies................then war.
Due to our vulnerability, our best strategy is to diversify trade and aim at self sufficiency in areas on National Security.
