Western Australia enacts emergency fuel powers as PM urges calm

WA Premier Roger Cook has enacted emergency fuel powers even as the prime minister calls for a calm response from Australians to the fuel crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East.

Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson visited the governor today in a bid to shore up the flow of fuel across the state, giving the government specific new powers over fuel suppliers.

The powers could only be unlocked by declaring a state of emergency under the relevant act, WA Today reported, but Cook today played down that terminology.

READ MORE: PM warns 'economic shocks' to be 'with us for months' in rare address

"Let me be very clear, we are not declaring a state of emergency. We are utilising the emergency powers under the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act," he said.

"This is not what people experienced under COVID. It's a completely different act of Parliament. It's very specific powers which we need in order to create some transparency around fuel supply chains."

The emergency powers will be able to force "sensitive information" out of suppliers in relation to stock and distribution.

"In some cases, we don't know where fuel is, or where it's going," Cook said.

They can't compel the suppliers to re-direct fuel themselves but can prioritise where excess stock goes.

"We can see where there's excess, where there is stock, and we can direct it where it's needed and we're doing that by working closely with the companies," Sanderson said.

From midnight on Thursday (3am AEDT), suppliers will have 48 hours to hand over the information, or be fined.

"The maximum is $100,000 per day for corporations and $10,000 per day for individuals," Sanderson said.

It follows a letter from the premier to six suppliers last week, asking them to share information but only half of them were willing to comply.

"We haven't got the full information that we need - and we won't apologise for taking this action," Sanderson said.

The calls from the state government are for transparency, not panic.

"We don't expect any impact in relation to consumers or the members of the public at large," Cook said.

"These are very specific powers applying to that very specific cohort of six companies."

The changes came as fuel relief began to kick in on Wednesday.

Drivers raced to fill up after the federal government slashed the fuel excise in half, removing 26 cents a litre, with long lines of drivers queuing at the bowsers to make the most of it.

It was the first time diesel prices dropped since the start of the crisis sparked by Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in reaction to attacks by the US and Israel.

Service stations slashed prices by almost 10 cents per litre while unleaded petrol was down 7 cents per litre.

The average price for unleaded is set to plunge further, dropping another 13 cents per litre tomorrow. The cost of diesel set to lower by 10 cents per litre.

Police say they've increased patrols at the pump amid continued caution about thefts.

"We work closely with the fuel stations to make sure they report [theft] and we respond," WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said.

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