A Nationals MP has accused his own government of "squibbing" on its obligation to manage the country's oil supplies properly.
Andrew Broad told parliament on Monday he isn't satisfied the country has enough fuel in reserve or refineries to deal with a significant global emergency.
Members of the International Energy Agency are obliged to have 90 days worth of oil stock, but Australia does not currently comply.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, that would allow Australia to buy access to oil stocks to meet that obligation was not good enough, Mr Broad said.
"This appears to me like buying a boat with holes in it in case there's going to be a flood," he told MPs.
Mr Broad likened it to the Australian government being ill-prepared for the Pacific War, sending ships of troops to New Guinea without enough guns on board.
The proposed 'ticketing' system suits places like Europe with land borders but would not work satisfactorily for an island nation, he said.
The Victorian MP noted that of the countries from which Australia sources its oil, only one isn't in the region of a potential conflict zone - and that was India.
"While the ticketing (mechanism) perhaps does tick the box and saves the government a lot of money, I do believe we are squibbing on our obligation to look after the security of the Australian people," Mr Broad said.
"I think someone in this parliament needed to raise it."
It wasn't only about ensuring access to fuel for Australia's defence capabilities, including tanks and planes, but also for food transport to heavily populated areas that have very limited food reserves.
Mr Broad wants Australia to increase its oil refining capacity and spread it across different locations to "limit the ability for them to be taken out by an airstrike".
"This is maybe buying us time, but it is not addressing adequately the major risks that we have in our region," he said.
Despite his concerns, he will still vote in favour of the legislation.
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