ASCI Connect

"According to modelling from consultancy Mandala Partners, Australia's current fleet of EVs has already added 1.2 days of fuel supply to Australia's reserve - currently around 36 days' worth of petrol and 32 days of diesel.

Australia lags behind comparable countries for EV uptake, but that is changing. Battery electric car sales last month were almost double compared to last February. If our rate of penetration matched that of world-leader Norway, where 95 per cent of new car sales are electric, EVs could cover an extra 11 days of supply in Australia.

It might not sound like much, but that amounts to a 30 per cent increase in Australia's fuel reserves.

Electrifying heavy transport and freight is a more complex process and will take longer, but starting with passenger and smaller vehicles would mean that fuel reserves can go towards critical services like farming, logistics and industry.

Admiral Chris Barrie is the former chief of the Defence Force and now an executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group. He says reducing Australia's dependence on fossil fuels should be a priority.

"You look at the road transport situation in this country, we're totally dependent on the regular supply of fossil fuels, save for those people who are driving EVs. And the uptake of EVs in our country hasn't been that good compared to Europe," Admiral Barrie said.

"We have a military force totally dependent on fossil fuels. We have airlines in Australia almost totally dependent on fossil fuels."

"In every way that we can, we should be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels … whether it's changing the transport system for the delivery of goods, food and services around Australia to electrified railway systems. Or even only reducing our own dependence through the introduction of electric vehicles and so on and so forth."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-24/fuel-security-exposed-by-iran-war-but-renewables-offer-an-out/106452696?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

Traditional supply chains focus on physical availability, while integrated product support focuses on operational availability. This is where EVs still have a challenge. Their operational availability, so to speak, is dependent on a network of charging stations. We do not need the equivalent of current petrol filling stations, but from an IPS point of view, the EV ecosystem is still lacking maturity.

"According to modelling from consultancy Mandala Partners, Australia's current fleet of EVs has already added 1.2 days of fuel supply to Australia's reserve - currently around 36 days' worth of petrol and 32 days of diesel.

Australia lags behind comparable countries for EV uptake, but that is changing. Battery electric car sales last month were almost double compared to last February. If our rate of penetration matched that of world-leader Norway, where 95 per cent of new car sales are electric, EVs could cover an extra 11 days of supply in Australia.

It might not sound like much, but that amounts to a 30 per cent increase in Australia's fuel reserves.

Electrifying heavy transport and freight is a more complex process and will take longer, but starting with passenger and smaller vehicles would mean that fuel reserves can go towards critical services like farming, logistics and industry.

Admiral Chris Barrie is the former chief of the Defence Force and now an executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group. He says reducing Australia's dependence on fossil fuels should be a priority.

"You look at the road transport situation in this country, we're totally dependent on the regular supply of fossil fuels, save for those people who are driving EVs. And the uptake of EVs in our country hasn't been that good compared to Europe," Admiral Barrie said.

"We have a military force totally dependent on fossil fuels. We have airlines in Australia almost totally dependent on fossil fuels."

"In every way that we can, we should be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels … whether it's changing the transport system for the delivery of goods, food and services around Australia to electrified railway systems. Or even only reducing our own dependence through the introduction of electric vehicles and so on and so forth."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-24/fuel-security-exposed-by-iran-war-but-renewables-offer-an-out/106452696?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

Agreed, Pieter, the govt needs to engage with the stakeholders and attract (provide?) investment opportunities to improve the infrastructure. B/Rgds, KHZ

Traditional supply chains focus on physical availability, while integrated product support focuses on operational availability. This is where EVs still have a challenge. Their operational availability, so to speak, is dependent on a network of charging stations. We do not need the equivalent of current petrol filling stations, but from an IPS point of view, the EV ecosystem is still lacking maturity.

"According to modelling from consultancy Mandala Partners, Australia's current fleet of EVs has already added 1.2 days of fuel supply to Australia's reserve - currently around 36 days' worth of petrol and 32 days of diesel.

Australia lags behind comparable countries for EV uptake, but that is changing. Battery electric car sales last month were almost double compared to last February. If our rate of penetration matched that of world-leader Norway, where 95 per cent of new car sales are electric, EVs could cover an extra 11 days of supply in Australia.

It might not sound like much, but that amounts to a 30 per cent increase in Australia's fuel reserves.

Electrifying heavy transport and freight is a more complex process and will take longer, but starting with passenger and smaller vehicles would mean that fuel reserves can go towards critical services like farming, logistics and industry.

Admiral Chris Barrie is the former chief of the Defence Force and now an executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group. He says reducing Australia's dependence on fossil fuels should be a priority.

"You look at the road transport situation in this country, we're totally dependent on the regular supply of fossil fuels, save for those people who are driving EVs. And the uptake of EVs in our country hasn't been that good compared to Europe," Admiral Barrie said.

"We have a military force totally dependent on fossil fuels. We have airlines in Australia almost totally dependent on fossil fuels."

"In every way that we can, we should be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels … whether it's changing the transport system for the delivery of goods, food and services around Australia to electrified railway systems. Or even only reducing our own dependence through the introduction of electric vehicles and so on and so forth."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-24/fuel-security-exposed-by-iran-war-but-renewables-offer-an-out/106452696?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link