NRMA board director and representative for Western NSW Graham Blight, on a tour of central west councils, has warned communities to 'expect the unexpected' over threats to Australian fuel security.
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"Oil companies will tell you there will be no disruptions but we import 91 per cent of our fuel, finished and crude and we are refining less. So the threat to your petrol supply is there," Mr Blight said.
The NRMA's report into national fuel security said Australia lacked alternative sources.
"There is no real government policy to maintain what we are getting now and looking into new sources of petrol.
"There are problems in the Middle East, the South China Sea and who knows what that problem might bring about," he said.
Mr Blight cited problems in Western Australia and also Victoria where petrol shortages were happening and said he was concerned about reports on an apparent fuel shortage which could affect the central west within days.
Mr Blight talked with Wellington Council's general manager Michael Tolhurst and Technical Services director Stan Robb about the increasing poor state of country roads and timber bridges.
"These are still a major concern for our members," he said. "We have been talking to ministers and lobbying state and federal governments for more than a decade on this," he said.
Mr Blight agreed the Mitchell Highway continued to be one of the state's black spots.
"This highway is among our highest priorities," he said.
Wellington has two bridges which it needs to fix now.
Sidetracks and diversions are being put in place at the moment at a cost of $400,000.