Despite transport and farming groups' concerns over the domestic supply of the critical ingredient used to make AdBlue, the federal government has moved to allay fears of a shortage.
AdBlue is the common and commercial name for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), an anti-pollutant essential to most modern diesel engines, including those in trucks and some farm equipment.
In a statement to the ABC, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said the DEF market was currently well-supplied and there were no forecast shortages.
DEF is made from refined urea.
Until last year the majority of this key ingredient was sourced from China.
When changes in supply created a shortage of the critical product in late 2021, the Morrison government put almost $30 million into Incitec Pivot (IPL) to increase domestic urea manufacturing at its facility in Queensland.
IPL will close its Gibson Island facility at the end of the year because the company has been unable to secure an affordable feedstock gas supply from the east coast gas market.
This pending closure has transport and agricultural sectors worried about future supply again.
However, a spokesperson for the department said the sector now had additional supply chain diversity from countries other than China.
Long-term, state-owned solutions needed
Outspoken federal MP Bob Katter said it was unacceptable for the Australian transport industry to be totally reliant on an imported product.
Mr Katter said a reserve gas resource policy was a step in solving the problem long-term.
"AdBlue is urea which is an ammonia nitrate natural gas," he said.
"It will not matter how many people put their hands up to produce it, unless the Government can bring down the price of gas long-term, it won't be a survivable industry."
Mr Katter has called for an 18-month suspension of the use of DEF to give time for a state-owned urea facility to be built.
"You must have a reserve resource policy, you must provide the money to build the plant, because nobody else is going to take that risk, and you must own the plant now and into the future," he said.
