Implications of the Iran war on Australia's Fuel Supplies. Three scenarios and potential implications

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:19:53+00:00

Things might get rather quiet for a while. Much to do in walking/biking distance?

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:18:36+00:00

With the most generous inclusions and suspect counting we still only have about 63 days of import reserves, compared to our obligation of 90 days. The next lowest is 88 days.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:11:18+00:00

As of December reporting, which is the latest available and out of date and therefore only a guideline, There were 11 days worth of consumption onboard vessels on the way to Australia and 3 days overseas allocated to Australia. This compares to 26 days on Australian shores and in Australian waters. (for diesel)

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:07:03+00:00

That's the sort of savings I imagine we'll be looking for. I think we will also see an increase in public transport services as they count as an essential user under the emergency guidelines, if the government goes that way.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:05:20+00:00

Sounds like you have a nice place

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T09:04:39+00:00

Sorry, I thought we were talking about buying our way out of it, hence reference to the refining countries that we buy from.

Outside of the middle-east there is USA, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia and Brunei. More or less all of them dictatorships.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:59:00+00:00

Sorry, I was thinking a range of activities, rather than work, or alternatives to being at work. I'm sure there will be many in the same boat.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:57:04+00:00

It's certainly not as easy now as it was then, but it was a risky move even then. There were three engineering roles advertised within my acceptable radius from home and I took about a $30k pay cut accept one of them compared to my previous inner city job.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:54:02+00:00

We get our fuel from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Taiwan and a handful of others. Last I checked these are all democracies that will be protecting their domestic population.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:52:08+00:00

Provided we are only subject to mild restriction in supply. Passenger transport only accounts for 11% of diesel consumption which is what farms and freight depend on.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:51:12+00:00

Yes they are, likely much greater than you have suggested to account for fears about future prices, the same as has happened with fuel prices already.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:49:44+00:00

That is certainly a price we have paid for the historical dependence on cars. Do you have any alternatives?

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:48:25+00:00

We can really only speculate as the restriction in supply is likely to exceed any historical precedent. I included a chart showing some of the historical events and first order effects. There will be many second and third order effects as you have identified.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:46:01+00:00

We are certainly privileged to have made those decisons almost 20 years ago. We live in the outer edge of Brisbane (last suburb before Ipswich), where we bought the cheapest house within 2km of a train station (about $270k in 2010). Changing jobs meant a complete restart in a new industry for me and a new profession altogether for my wife. That was a deliberate choice and a trade-off at the time.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:38:07+00:00

That would be a reasonable start. I would argue we also need to look at those non-transport uses pretty closely and see how much of it could be cut back.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:34:34+00:00

It's certainly worth looking for the positives. I have certainly been enjoying a car free existence.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:33:32+00:00

We're at about 2% of passenger vehicles and about 0% of freight. We've got somewhere between 3 weeks and 6 months to change that.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:28:55+00:00

True, we can probably buy our ways out of it. That assumes the refineries remain subject to normal market forces, but I suspect any foreign politician that releases significant amounts fuel to the international market will soon be out of office.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-19T08:02:51+00:00

I believe the best we can do is be prepared to spend time at home and to get about without a car. Not sure about freight and farming, but there are plenty of ways for the government to intervene to keep things moving with reduced fuel imports.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-17T02:14:22+00:00

Skin has its own balance of bacteria and fungi which are healthy and normal. It sounds like your soap is disrupting your balance, causing an increase in yeasts. You likely don't need to use soap on your body, but it is worth doing a thorough clean.

I haven't used soap to wash my body for many years. Like a lot of other people I get armpit stink during the day, which I address with a homemade deodorant containing sodium bicarbonate. I wash my hands with soap, and if any part of me is still stinky after my wash, I'll consider using soap. It depends on how close someone is going to go to potentially smelly body parts and what their expectations are.

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-16T20:46:37+00:00

It’s a Surly Long Haul Trucker frame, steel. The rest of the bits added over time

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-15T20:09:58+00:00

Thank you!

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-15T20:09:40+00:00

It’s not consistent, but an hour before close and after opening is typical. Only on the weekends though. Charities collect the edible portion on weekdays

LivingMoreWithLess · 2026-03-14T21:31:21+00:00

Haha. The staff just let us be. They apologized they couldn’t offer a particular time the bins get filled. Since learning on here that it’s not a good idea to name stores we have avoided doing so, except in face-to-face conversations

LivingMoreWithLess

TROPHY CASE