A massive fire tore through Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery in Corio overnight, engulfing one of Australia’s only two remaining oil refineries and sending flames and explosions skyward for hours.

The facility, which supplies around 10 per cent of the nation’s fuel and half of Victoria’s, was hit by what authorities have called an “equipment failure” just after 11pm on Wednesday.

Fire Rescue Victoria crews battled the blaze for more than 12 hours before extinguishing it around midday Thursday, with no injuries reported. Controversial Labor Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed the plant is still producing diesel and jet fuel but at reduced levels, particularly affecting petrol output.

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This is no isolated accident. Australia once had eight major refineries. Successive governments and companies shuttered six of them in pursuit of unreliable renewables, leaving the country reliant on imported fuel at the worst possible time.

🚨 One of Australia’s only two remaining oil refineries is ablaze after a “significant fire” with the cause now being investigated. pic.twitter.com/kyMkc1igaJ

— Rebel News Australia (@RebelNews_AU) April 16, 2026

Even if we accept the official “equipment failure” line, and many Australians fear far darker possibilities amid global tensions, the bigger scandal is clear. We engineered this vulnerability. Chasing net-zero dreams, we made ourselves dependent on foreign tankers while our own refining capacity vanished.

Now, in the middle of an already strained fuel supply situation, one of our last two lifelines is literally up in flames. Australia is completely exposed.

Yet the deeper question remains unanswered: why did we let radical green ideology strip us of energy security in the first place?
This fire is a blazing warning. We cannot afford more virtue-signalling experiments while the lights, and the pumps, risk going out.

It’s time to get serious about fuel sovereignty before the next crisis doesn’t just singe Victoria … it brings the whole country to a halt.