<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>City commuters in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="_blank" title="Victoria"><span>Victoria</span></a><span> have been urged to stop driving and take public transport to work as regional communities in the state battle an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/federal-government-releases-fuel-reserve/cmmtja4c600170hllsv5hr58j" rel="" target="_blank" title="ongoing fuel shortage."><span>ongoing fuel shortage.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Petrol stations in rural Victoria are </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/petrol-stations-australia-regional-service-stations-completely-out-of-fuel/fc342a7e-279b-4739-aa71-7defeec841b2" rel="" target="_blank" title="running completely dry"><span>running completely dry</span></a><span>, leaving farmers who urgently need diesel to operate machinery in the lurch.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Brett Hosking has called on the state government to make public transport free to encourage workers in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/melbourne" rel="" target="_blank" title="Melbourne"><span>Melbourne</span></a><span> to stay off the roads and save the much-needed fuel for farmers.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/first-home-buyers-australia-rush-protect-borrowing-capacity-before-predicted-interest-rate-hikes/a938f241-58b0-43b4-bdd9-00e1b6832fc9" target="_blank"><strong><span>Max scrambled to buy a home before today's RBA decision derailed his plans</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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 </span><em><span>Today</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australian farms run on liquid fuel, it's a reality we can't avoid.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We don't have a public transport network, we're required to drive long distances, and we need liquid fuel to make that happen."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-shortage-regional-australia-farmer-urges-victorians-to-stop-driving-to-work/f247462b-544b-431b-96cc-4e2076173ef1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hosking said farmers and their families desperately need the government to step in and ease the fuel crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Demand for fuel has skyrocketed and has affected "every corner of Victoria", Hosking said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>ANALYSIS:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attack-iran-vladimir-putin-russia-benefits-donald-trump-sanctions-relief/ce1eafa6-3835-4a9c-9301-d085a9e1a564" target="_blank"><strong><span>There's one big winner from the Iran war, and it's not Donald Trump</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-17-donald-trump-pushes-allies-for-help-in-strait-of-hormuz/07b534e9-af93-4d00-91dc-58dba21ca969" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump unleashes on allies, missile shrapnel falls on holy sites</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the flow of petrol and diesel has been disproportionately stemmed in regional areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The towns of Wedderburn and Bonnie Doon are also facing the prospect of empty bowsers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hosking said fare-free public transport would be a "simple" way to help farmers out of this predicament until supply stabilises.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We need some support to make sure we're getting that liquid fuel to those who need it the most," he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There's some really simple levers here to pull, and we just need to have the will to be able to do it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NATIONAL:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-weather-news-tropical-low-could-develop-into-cyclone-off-the-far-north-coast-by-the-end-of-the-week/22d36efb-98ef-470e-99de-fe9a23cda346" target="_blank"><strong><span>New threat brewing for already-saturated far north Queensland</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hosking warned this was the crisis point for farmers and that supermarket shelves could soon be empty too if nothing changes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For now, we're asking for a helping hand to grow the food and make sure it gets to where it needs to go."</span></div></div><div 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