City commuters in Victoria have been urged to stop driving and take public transport to work as regional communities in the state battle an ongoing fuel shortage.
Petrol stations in rural Victoria are running completely dry, leaving farmers who urgently need diesel to operate machinery in the lurch.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Brett Hosking has called on the state government to make public transport free to encourage workers in Melbourne to stay off the roads and save the much-needed fuel for farmers.
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"We need to get the fuel out of our metropolitan areas and into those rural communities, where it's needed to grow your food and fibre, where it's needed to get kids to school, where it's needed to get people to work," Hosking told Today.
"Australian farms run on liquid fuel, it's a reality we can't avoid.
"We don't have a public transport network, we're required to drive long distances, and we need liquid fuel to make that happen."
Hosking said farmers and their families desperately need the government to step in and ease the fuel crisis.
Demand for fuel has skyrocketed and has affected "every corner of Victoria", Hosking said.
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But the flow of petrol and diesel has been disproportionately stemmed in regional areas.
Robinvale in Victoria's north-west is believed to be the first town in the state to run out of fuel on the weekend before resupply arrived.
The towns of Wedderburn and Bonnie Doon are also facing the prospect of empty bowsers.
Hosking said fare-free public transport would be a "simple" way to help farmers out of this predicament until supply stabilises.
"We need some support to make sure we're getting that liquid fuel to those who need it the most," he added.
"If just one in five Victorian car commuters shifted to public transport, the fuel saved would be enough to plant roughly half of Australia's wheat, barley, canola and lentil crop.
"There's some really simple levers here to pull, and we just need to have the will to be able to do it."
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He said even one or two extra days on the train or bus per week instead of a trip in the car would make a meaningful difference.
Hosking warned this was the crisis point for farmers and that supermarket shelves could soon be empty too if nothing changes.
"For now, we're asking for a helping hand to grow the food and make sure it gets to where it needs to go."
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