The Albanese government is under fire as its flagship policy to establish a sovereign strategic fleet falls more than a year behind schedule, leaving Australia's fuel security and supply chains increasingly vulnerable to global shocks.
Despite a 2022 election pledge to commission 12 Australian-flagged and crewed vessels to safeguard economic sovereignty, not a single ship has been secured.
Industry leaders and defence experts warn that the escalating conflict in the Middle East has laid bare the nation’s "rock bottom" maritime capacity, as regional fuel shortages and price spikes begin to bite.
Currently, less than 1% of Australia's seaborne trade is carried by domestic ships, forcing a total reliance on foreign-owned tankers that the government cannot legally compel into dangerous zones during a crisis.
While Transport Minister Catherine King’s department claims the tender evaluation for the first three vessels is "well advanced," the missed deadlines have sparked fears that the government is "walking away" from the $21.7 million program.
Maritime Union of Australia officials and national security experts, including former RAAF deputy chief John Blackburn, argue that counting fuel currently in transit on foreign ships as "national stock" is a dangerous fallacy.
Without a fleet capable of being requisitioned during emergencies, critics contend Australia remains strategically exposed, unable to guarantee the transport of essential goods or maintain defence readiness in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific landscape.