7:30 Report on 9 August.
The NRMA is pushing hard on Australia’s dependency on oil and the lack of policy initiatives to prepare us for a future where oil is in much shorter supply and much more expensive.
Our current trade deficit for the purchase of oil is $16 billion.
This is expected to go to $30 billion in 5 years time when of the 500million barrels of oil Australia uses 80million will be imported.
Australalia’s oil gauge is falling fast.
Wendy Macha NRMA President is calling for policy leadership on oil saying there are economic environmental and national security consequences of our dependency on this falling resource. She is calling for us to plan for a future not dependent on just oil a carbon constrained future. The NRMA has put together a panel of experts to push for action.
Julian Segal Caltex CEO says we need an energy security policy.
Australia has shale oil reserves but they are not the solution because shale oil is four times more greenhouse-intensive than ordinary oil.
Monica Richter of the Australian Conservation Foundation says Australia requires a strategy which needs to start now.
LNG is scarce in Australia for those wanting to use it in fuel tanks. We export almost all of Australia’s abundant LNG overseas.
Another person involved in the campaign to get attention to our oil future is Dr David Lamb of the CSIRO Auto Technology area.