Continuing Progress on Adopting Low Aromatic Fuel

View by date:

• May
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

• 2013
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004

PDF printable version of Continuing Progress on Adopting Low Aromatic Fuel (PDF 325 KB)

22 November 2012

The Australian Government supports the Low Aromatic Fuel Bill 2012, as a further tool to ensure Opal Fuel is rolled out to all areas where petrol sniffing continues to devastate lives.

Strong and coordinated action is required, particularly to protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in remote communities.

The measures in the Bill build on the Government’s successful $174.3 million Petrol Sniffing Strategy.

A key plank of this strategy is the roll out of low aromatic Opal fuel to locations in regional and remote Australia where petrol sniffing is prevalent.

Under this strategy, the Government also funds youth diversion programs, policing, and mental health and community programs.

We know where Opal Fuel is available rates of petrol sniffing are drastically lowered.

The Government believes this Bill will provide the mechanism to ensure any recalcitrant operators or stores can be forced to shift to Opal for the benefit of communities across Australia.

The Bill, once amended, will allow the responsible Minister to designate an area as a Fuel Control Area to safeguard the health and wellbeing of local people and communities.

The Government will closely consult with key stakeholders before designating a Fuel Control Area, including local Indigenous communities and organisations, fuel suppliers and retailers and health professionals.

This will mean that only low aromatic Opal fuel will be made available in these areas. Regular unleaded petrol will be prohibited and the supply and storage of other fuels, including premium unleaded petrol, will be restricted.

The Federal Labor Government is committed to complementary, cross-jurisdictional approach to tackling petrol sniffing and has been working with the states and territories towards this.

The Bill provides a trigger for the Minister to step in where other policy approaches have failed to secure positive results.

Low aromatic fuel works. Where it has been introduced, there has been a significant decrease in petrol sniffing.

An independent evaluation found that in some regions the introduction of Opal fuel has reduced petrol sniffing by up to 94 per cent.

We will also continue to work closely with fuel suppliers and the state and territory Governments on storage and supply issues.

Tests on Opal fuel have been undertaken by BP Australia, and independently, showing the product to be reliable and safe for motor vehicle engines.

The Government is providing more than $115 million over five years to support the supply of low aromatic fuel to 123 current locations across regional and remote Australia, with an expansion to an additional 39 retail sites also underway.

Reducing substance abuse in Indigenous communities is a key element of the Government's commitment to closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the wider Australian population people.

For more information, contact the minister’s office on 02 6277 7820