Doorstop at Hobart

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
DOORSTOP 
HOBART 
FRIDAY, 17 APRIL 2026 
 
SUBJECTS: Securing more fertiliser for Australian farmers, Tasmanian fuel supply, Liberty Bell Bay. 
 
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY: We have been working through a commercial arrangement with Incitec Pivot and with the Indonesian Government, obviously in relation to securing more fertiliser for Australia, particularly urea. We’re talking about 250,000 tonnes of additional supply of urea coming into Australia. Indonesia is already a trusted partner in terms of supply of urea for Australia. But given that around 60 per cent of Australia’s urea was coming through the Strait of Hormuz, we did know that we had a shortage during this growing season, but we do have enough urea in Australia for the initial planting season at the moment. This is about additional supply going into the months ahead. So, this is terrific news that we’ve been able to do this. And this is around 20 per cent of the current shortfall that we expect for the current planting year in terms of urea. It’s terrific to have Scott Bowman here, fresh from Indonesia, from Incitec Pivot, from doing this deal. And Scott is happy to have further words about how important this deal is for fertiliser for Australia and, importantly, providing surety for farmers. We know that farmers across the country at the moment are putting in crops, and this is about surety into the coming months in terms of the fertiliser supply. So I’ll hand over to Scott, and then you can ask Scott some questions, and then I’ll take questions. 
 
SCOTT BOWMAN, PRESIDENT INCITEC PIVOT: Thanks, Julie. Yeah, thanks. As Julie said, we’ve concluded an arrangement with PT Pupuk, who is Indonesia’s government-owned fertiliser organisation, for 250,000 tonnes of urea. It’s one of a number of initiatives at Incitec Pivot that we’ve been working toward to try and secure fertiliser for Australian farmers so that they can get on with the business of growing food, and work to secure the food security for the region. PT Pupuk had been fabulous, and I’ve only just got back from Jakarta this morning, where we’ve been working through that arrangement. The first of those shipments will likely ship from Indonesia in May.  
 
JOURNALIST: So we have enough for this season, though? Is that right? So, can you explain the specific role of what fertiliser does and, I guess, why it’s so important? 
  
BOWMAN: Yeah, sure. Fertiliser, and particularly in the case of nitrogen, which is urea, boosts the yields of crops in most agricultural situations. We’re leading into a critical period in Australia, where we grow grains, both on the west coast and the east coast, where farmers need that urea to ensure the yields required to meet food security. 

JOURNALIST: We’re hearing reports of more farmers moving away from, I guess, artificial fertilising into more sustainable options. Is that something that you’re hearing as well, or you still think the demand is there? 

BOWMAN: The reality is that the world requires fertiliser to ensure food, in the form of urea, sulphate, ammonia, and there’s a number of forms of fertilisers that are used through different crop structures. 
 
JOURNALIST: Why can’t sustainable options be considered? 
 
COLLINS: We’re obviously, as a Government, working on sustainable plantings going forward. But what I would say is that Australian farmers are some of the most sustainable on the planet. And, indeed, Australian farmers have some of the lowest emissions, and some of the lowest use of fertiliser, and some of the least tilling when it comes to providing food for Australians and, importantly, for our near neighbours and right across the globe. Australia produces a huge amount of food. We cracked $100 billion industry target for Australian agriculture four years early, and about 80 per cent of value of that is exported across the globe. And, importantly, we do provide food security, obviously, not just for Australians but for our near neighbours as well. 
 
JOURNALIST: Is this a food security issue more broadly? 
 
COLLINS: Absolutely, it is. This is about making sure that we feed not just Australians but our near neighbours and those people across the globe and across the planet. Australia has great trading relations, and about 80 per cent of the value of Australia’s agriculture does go across the globe. 
 
JOURNALIST: This was a commercial arrangement. What role did the Federal Government actually play as part of this arrangement? 

COLLINS: Well, we’ve obviously been playing a facilitation role. We have been talking to governments, particularly suppliers of urea, particularly in the Southeast Asian region, to make sure that those intergovernmental relations are there to support businesses who are making these commercial deals. And I don’t know if Scott wants to say anything more about the deal and how it was organised? 
 
BOWMAN: Yeah, sure. We’ve got an ongoing relationship with PT Pupuk. We’ve bought product out of Indonesia before. So, through that relationship and the relationship and the relationship working with the government, given PT Pupuk is an Indonesian Government organisation, we were able to work together to structure this for the benefit of Australian agriculture. 
 
JOURNALIST: Without this commercial arrangement you’ve come to, what was the actual risk to Australia’s primary industries? 
 
BOWMAN: The risk to the Australian primary industry is yield. In the absence of urea, if you can’t get the urea farmers require, certainly there’ll be a yield impact.  
 
JOURNALIST: So you no longer face that risk for the upcoming season? 
 
COLLINS: Yes, I can do that, sorry. 
 
JOURNALIST: Just next time, just make sure you step right up to the mic because there’s a lot of sound around. 

COLLINS: So this 250,000 tonnes of urea is around 20 per cent of the shortfall that we anticipate that we’ll have for this current growing season. So the growing season runs from November through to October, so this is through to October this year. So in terms of the urea, we certainly have some in Australia already. We have some on the water already, but this is additional supply, and this additional supply is about 20 per cent of the estimated current shortfall of urea. 
 
JOURNALIST: Is this going to be enough - sorry. Is this going to be enough to prevent the cost of food going up at the supermarket? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously, this is about providing certainty and security for farmers and to give them confidence going into the plantings that more supply is on its way. We do know that farmers are, you know, facing some difficulty in terms of rising diesel prices and fertiliser prices, and they’re making some tough decisions. But the farmers that I’m talking to are talking to me about certainty, and they want as much certainty and surety and confidence to be able to plant as possible, and that’s what this additional supply provides. 
 
JOURNALIST: So, will we expect prices to increase at the supermarket? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously, you know, the Treasurer has spoken about the impact of inflation. This is a global impact of this war in the Middle East, and Australia will not be immune from that. Our job as a government is to do everything that we can do to shield Australians from it, and we’re doing everything that we can do to shield Australians from it. 
 
JOURNALIST: What measures is the government taking to acquire the extra 80 to 90 per cent of fertiliser that’s needed for the season? And are you concerned that we won’t be able to acquire all that’s needed? 
 
COLLINS: Well, we’re obviously working across the globe and are strengthening relationships internationally to try and secure more supply. We are getting more supply from places we haven’t traditionally received supply of urea from in the past. We’ve got the fertiliser working group working with companies and organisations such as Incitec Pivot and Fertilizer Australia to be able to secure that. We’re also looking at if the government has a role to underwrite some of these arrangements in terms of the commercial arrangements to get more urea into Australia. So we are doing everything we can possibly do. We’ve also, because we are getting urea from places we haven’t before, we’re improving and streamlining our biosecurity assessments. We’re not reducing our biosecurity assessments at all, but streamlining the process. So, no risk to biosecurity, but how do we make sure that we get that fertiliser into the country in a faster manner so that our farmers can get access to it. 
 
JOURNALIST: With what other regions and countries are we in negotiations with for supply? 
 
COLLINS: Well, we’ve seen obviously that the Prime Minister has been in Brunei and Malaysia. We have been talking to them, and we continue to talk to some of our Southeast Asian neighbours. But we’re also talking right across the globe to secure this urea. 
 
JOURNALIST: Is there any capacity for a domestic supply? 
 
COLLINS: Well, we are investing in our domestic supply with the Perdaman plant in Western Australia. There is a $220 million loan facility provided, and they will be able to produce urea in Australia again, and that will be occurring from mid next year in terms of the Perdaman plant and that production. 
 
JOURNALIST: Would you encourage farmers who can take their own fertiliser to do so? 
 
COLLINS: Well, my understanding is that Incitec Pivot and other fertiliser suppliers are working with farmers in terms of demand and making the use of that fertiliser go as far as it possibly can. And, as I said, Australian farmers are some of the best on the planet, and they are already some of the most sustainable farming practices on the planet. 
 
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us more about our sovereign capability, does the Perdaman facility go far enough in terms of ensuring that we can produce it ourselves? 
 
COLLINS: The Perdaman facility will certainly provide millions of tonnes of urea and will help with Australia’s supply. As I said, we already have some trusted supply partners in terms of Indonesia and other countries across the globe. We’ll continue to maintain those relationships. And as a Government, we’re always looking to do more here to be able to have food security in Australia for Australians in terms of the entire supply chain. We’ve got a food security strategy underway where we’re looking from inputs to production through to farming through the entire supply chain to the end consumer to make sure that we have a food secure system in Australia. Australia is one of the few countries that doesn’t have a national food security strategy. We announced that prior to the last election, and work on that has commenced. 
 
COLLINS: Any other questions for Scott? 
 
JOURNALIST: No, I’m right. But I will just – so just to clarify, this is going to guarantee there’ll be food in supermarkets, but you can’t guarantee that the prices won’t go up? 
 
COLLINS: Well, what I would say is that as a Government, we’re doing everything we can in terms of ensuring food security for Australians. Australia produces more than enough food for Australians to eat, and we’ll continue to do that. We will continue to work with our farmers to make sure that we can maintain production, and we’re doing that in terms of supplies of diesel and fertiliser – two critical inputs. And as a Government, we’ll continue to shield Australians as much as we possibly can from the global impacts of the war in the Middle East. 
 
JOURNALIST: Back on the fertiliser, sorry, just quickly, is Tasmania even, I guess, further impacted by this issue, given we are just, you know, that step further away from even the mainland? 
 
COLLINS: Well, we have been talking obviously to fertiliser suppliers in Tasmania in relation to what is supply like in Tasmania. And I’m told that supply in Tasmania is holding up. But, importantly, fertiliser companies are actually talking to farmers about how they make that supply go further. 
 
JOURNALIST: What’s been the response from farmers on the Future Made in Australia plan? Just more broadly? 
 
COLLINS: Well, we have been working with the industry, and I’m meeting with them weekly, obviously, in relation to the immediate impacts of what is happening from the Middle East, and then we’re planning medium and long term. And, of course, we’ve stood up the National Food Council when it comes to food security strategy for Australia. And that Food Council has already had two meetings. And at the latest meeting, which was just a couple of weeks ago, we had tasked Andrew Henderson, to do a short, sharp review of the impact of the Middle East war on Australia’s food security, particularly in relation to diesel, and I’m expecting that review by the end of the month. 
 
JOURNALIST: Just on the fire at Corio, does the Federal Government anticipate – what impact does the Federal Government anticipate that will have on Tasmania’s fuel supply? 
 
COLLINS: Well, you’ve seen that our Prime Minister is at the Viva processing refinery this morning, and he has been in talks there and had an inspection. And the advice from Viva is that this will impact some production of petrol and some of diesel and jet fuel, but primarily petroleum, petrol. But they are also indicating that they expect imports to be able to keep up supply for Australia. 

JOURNALIST: Given this is where our fuel comes from, can Tasmanians expect fuel prices to again have upwards pressure on them? 
 
COLLINS: Well, I go back to my earlier comments that our role as a government is obviously to shield Tasmanians and Australians as much as we possibly can from the impacts, the global impacts, of this war in the Middle East, and certainly that’s what we will do. 
 
JOURNALIST: Just lastly, on Liberty Bell Bay, why hasn’t the government stopped this from getting to this situation now, where workers are now facing layoffs? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously, first and foremost, our thoughts are with those workers at Liberty Bell Bay, and certainly the Federal Government has been in close discussions. And we have had our local member, Jess Teesdale, the member for Bass, as part of those discussions and talking to people in relation to Liberty Bell Bay and the impact that this is having on people. We certainly, as a federal government, have been open to working with them and to see what we can do as a federal government, but I’m sure that this is devastating news for those employees and their families today. And certainly my thoughts are with them. 
 
JOURNALIST: The state government has announced a strategic fuel reserve to ensure that we’ve got a bit more storage on Tasmania’s island, of fuel. Is that something that you think is a good idea? 
 
COLLINS: Well, obviously, you know, I think we’re all looking at, you know, what can we do in terms of the future. But our immediate challenges and our focus is on making sure that we have continued supply. And you’ve seen Minister Bowen provide confidence and transparency in terms of his weekly updates on fuel supply coming into Australia. 
 
JOURNALIST: Do you think Tasmania’s government is keeping Tasmanians up to date with fuel supply numbers enough? 

COLLINS: Well, obviously, I get the numbers, and we see the numbers that are being announced by Chris Bowen. Some of that data does come from the Tasmanian State government. What we are doing, of course, is working with state and territory governments, through National Cabinet, on the National Fuel Security Plan. We are at level 2, Keep Australia moving. Any escalation or de-escalation will be a matter for National Cabinet, and that’s working with state governments.