Andrew Forrest calls for end to Russian fuel imports
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'Australian mums and dads should not be funding Putin's war machine,' Dr Forrest told the Herald Sun after it was revealed the Kremlin had received $1.85bn in taxes from crude oil exports that have, via Indian refineries, ended up in Australian fuel tanks since 2023.
Calls have grown for Australia and other Western nations to close a loophole that allows third-party nations such as India, Turkey and China to refine Russian crude feedstock into petroleum and legally export it as a 'substantially transformed' product.
Dr Forrest, recently named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people, said 'we need comprehensive reform of sanctions law to effectively police Russian fossil fuel imports.'
'The fossil fuel economy will always create dependencies on tyrants. The geostrategic need for green fuel independence is now.'
Through his Minderoo Foundation, Dr Forrest has provided $20m in emergency aid to Ukraine for those impacted by the war and committed another $765m to post-conflict rebuilding, focusing on green energy and digital infrastructure.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, a peak body for the diaspora, is also calling on major fuel retailers, including BP and Ampol, to prohibit imports from foreign refineries that use Russian crude, in particular the Jamnagar Refinery in India which has exported much of the estimated $3.7bn in fuel to Australia that contains Russian feedstock which generates taxes for autocrat Vladimir Putin.
AFUO wants the Albanese government to close the sanctions loophole, mandate transparency on the crude origin of fuel and pursue international co-operation on the issue.
The group's chair, Kateryna Argyrou, has also called for consumer labelling to certify 'clean fuel' standards for motorists and other users to provide confidence their purchases are not helping fund Putin's invasion.
An Essential Research survey commissioned by AFUO found 60 per cent of Australians back comprehensive import bans on products made from Russian oil and 60 per cent also want petrol retailers to voluntarily commit to only using refineries that refuse Russian crude.
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