In the previous update a week earlier on 27/6/26 released in front of the Energy Minister’s electoral office in Fairfield a journo asked 2 important questions
JOURNALIST: “And just on fuel again, how many Export Finance Australia supported fuel orders have arrived in Australia since the EFA was given new powers in late March?”
MINISTER BOWEN: “We’ve ordered around 800 million litres of diesel, and several hundred million litres of jet fuel as well. Several have arrived. I don’t have the exact figure, but several have arrived others [inaudible].”
JOURNALIST: “Can you clarify whether a tanker named the Grand Winner Five is sitting off Sydney’s coast is one of those extra orders? And why has it been stuck offshore for weeks?”
MINISTER BOWEN: “I’m not aware of that particular tanker, but I do know we are dealing with strength because a lot of our storage is full. A lot of tankers are waiting for storage to become available, to come into to port the dock. I’m not sure if that’s the case for that particular ship. But that just shows how well Australia is dealing with this international crisis, that is not an uncommon event.”
https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/press-conference-fairfield-west-new-south-wales-4
This website provided background information to these questions.
One would have thought that the Minister would answer these questions in his MSO update yesterday, 4 July 2026. He or his department had a full week to investigate this case. They would have found that GRAND WINNER 5 was never allocated a slot in the berths of Botany Bay.
https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/port-operations/port-botany/port-botany-daily-vessel-movements
Even now, there is no GRAND WINNER 5 on the above website up to 19th July
So the problem must have started shortly after the departure on 17th of May (see Fig 8). It is unlikely that this was just a simple case of a tanker waiting for storage offshore Botany Bay. There is conflicting information from Marinetraffic, Maritime Optima, Shipnext and Myshiptracking. This should have been investigated and this could have been included in a well-phrased statement by the Minister to cover his backside
But no, not a single word. Moreover, the 2nd time in a row, the Minister did not disclose the forward orders by fuel, only the total, incidentally exactly the same volume as last week.
The presentation was done in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Office (CPO) on level 19-21 in 1 Bligh St, Sydney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Parliament_Offices,_Sydney
The selection of this secure, highly controlled venue was strategic.
Media will be required to show identification and may be required to sign in their name and time of arrival in an attendance book. Access to other areas of the CPO is restricted. Members of the media will be escorted directly to the media room.
https://maps.finance.gov.au/about-maps-and-other-services/commonwealth-parliament-offices-maps-state-and-territory-offices
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaWbEnUjDDg/
BOWEN: “Over to questions, and I think we have perhaps one on the phone”
No questions from journos in the room. That begs the question whether there were any journos present at all. There are 2 pool micros, one from Channel 10 and one from ABC TV. But were journos from these channels present? Maybe they were watching remotely the feed, comfortably in their offices?
The minister is gazing at a teleconference control dashboard with a list of journos and the topics they have a question on, all vetted in advance by the press secretary or a CPO staffer so that there can be no surprises as happened at the doorstop media event in front of Bowen’s electoral office in Fairfield. Bowen does not seem to make eye contact with journos in the room.
The shift from an open doorstop interview at a public electorate office to the secure, controlled environment of the Commonwealth Parliament Offices (CPO) allows for greater control over the media landscape.
Here are important fuel related excerpts from:
Press conference, Sydney CPO, New South Wales
Subjects: Regular fuel update; June EV sales figures; PIF and COP31
4 July 2026
MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY, CHRIS BOWEN: “Thanks for coming. Australia currently has 41 days worth of petrol on hand, which is three days less than my report last week. 38 days worth of diesel, which is one day more than my report last week. 34 days worth of jet fuel, which is five days more than my report last week.
We currently have 6.2 billion litres of fuel in Australia in total across fuel types.
Fig 1: 3,537+936+1,761 = 6,234 ML
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/security/australias-fuel-security/minimum-stockholding-obligation/statistics
“That’s more than the 5.3 billion litres we had on the day that Iran was first bombed.” 2,973+802+1,563= 5,338 ML
Fig 2: Time series of diesel stock held with data from Fig 1
Fig 3: Time series of jet fuel stock held with data from Fig 1
Fig 4: Time series of petrol stock held with data from Fig 1
“We have 49 ships on the water to Australia as we speak with fuel on them, that’s up one on my report last week.”
Fig 5: Tankers on the way
“And 3.6 billion litres of fuel contracted to be delivered over the next four weeks, which is steady with last week’s report. “
Fig 6: Forward orders excluding EFA supported extra orders
The graph showing also extra orders has been discontinued as the Minister failed to inform the public consistently which tankers have arrived.
“So again, Australians can take confidence while the instability and uncertainty continues internationally, what also continues is Australia’s fuel security, Australia’s fuel security in the face of this very big international challenge. It’s been Government and business working together so closely while others called for rationing or said rationing was inevitable. The Government had the view that a calm approach would see Australia through, and that calm approach will continue”.
https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/press-conference-sydney-cpo-new-south-wales
The Minister then continues to talk about EVs and PHEVs
There was only one journo (SBS from Melbourne) with a question over the phone line. It was about climate change affecting the Palau island and that Australia must increase its efforts. This question – although not on fuels – was absolutely justified as Chris Bowen is also the Climate Change Minister.
On the very evening of 4 July, NSW coal fired power plants were generating a peak of 7,288 MW, 89% of capacity. Not good news for Pacific Islands. Generation was around 7 GW for several hours. Just imagine how many EVs of owners living in apartment towers now and planned in future will recharge their EVs at night from the grid. No journo was there to ask questions.
Fig 7: NSW power generation by fuel on 4/7/2026
Summary and Conclusion
As the Minister was speaking in a glitzy CBD office tower, GRAND WINNER 5 was still floating offshore, clocking up demurrage fees at several $ 10k per day.
Fig 8: Tanker GRAND WINNER 5 waiting in anchorage offshore Wollongong
There were no questions from journalists in the room—raising the obvious question: were there actually any reporters physically present at the press conference at all? The Minister was left to explicitly invite questions over the phone lines. Ultimately, there was only a single caller: an SBS journalist based in Melbourne, whose name was marked as ‘indistinct’ in the official government transcript. His question focused entirely on the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). With that single query answered, this unusually brief media conference came to a quick end.
The Minister got rid of a journo by a cleverly selected venue but the problem remains and will get financially bigger with every day. In fact, there is an additional problem now, namely that the public was not informed. Why does the Minister create a future trap for him? The mainstream media have not yet picked up this case. Complacency has set in as the government narrative is accepted. But that may change.