Navigating a global energy crisis

Mike Willesee· Soundbite0:00

[on-hold music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, Radio, News, Music and more.

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For the first time in over fifty years, astronauts will soon fly around the moon.

Peter Martin· Host0:12

They're ready to fly.

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But there are real concerns about their safety.

Peter Martin· Host0:15

We're playing Russian roulette.

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In our series, The Challenger Legacy, we trace the history of two space shuttle disasters, and we ask, what are the lessons for today?

Peter Martin· Host0:26

I'm Carl Kusznicki.

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And I'm Fiona Pepper. Binge all the episodes now. Just search for The Challenger Legacy on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

Peter Martin· Host0:37

Suddenly, we're in the middle of a petrol crisis.

Chris Bowen· Soundbite0:40

In Australia currently, we hold one and a half billion liters of petrol and three billion liters of diesel in our minimum stock obligation, which is in effect a strategic reserve.

Peter Martin· Host0:53

But how long will that last? Maybe a month, unless there's panic buying. It wasn't long ago, in the year two thousand, that Australia made most of the petrol it used, and it made most of it, as much as ninety percent, from Australian oil. These days, we import most of our petrol and diesel, and what we do make, we make from imported oil. What happened? And what's likely to happen if supply from the Middle East stops? To get a handle on what a retail price of two dollars twenty per liter or more is likely to mean, and there's