Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Haase, for suggesting that an electorate should be named after a member while he is still serving in the House. It is very uncommon for that to happen, but I do take it as a vote of confidence and a vote of respect, and I thank you sincerely for that very positive suggestion. Maybe the Australian Electoral Commission, in its contemplation of Queensland electoral boundaries, might well look at that. I say that in jest, but I thank you for that particular comment.

I welcome you, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, to the chair. I know that, like me, you were particularly interested to listen to the Prime Minister’s energy announcement earlier this week. As you go around the country there is absolutely no doubt that there is concern in the Australian community about petrol prices. When one looks at the prices listed outside the various service stations on the Sunshine Coast and elsewhere, it is pretty clear that on a daily and weekly basis a great deal of pain is inflicted on motorists when they drive in to fill up their vehicles. Of course, owing to conservative governments in the past, petrol prices in Queensland are lower than in other parts of the country and that is indeed a positive thing.

While the Australian community understands that the Australian government is not responsible for high petrol prices, there is no doubt that there has been angst in the community and a level of concern, a level of ongoing worry as to whether it will be possible to fill up the family car in the future on a regular basis. In his announcement, the Prime Minister has made it clear that this is not the fault of the Australian government. However, the Australian government is expected by the Australian people to endeavour to do something—to do whatever can be done—to alleviate the situation.

When one looks back historically, the Australian government have reduced fuel excise and we have done away with Labor’s indexation of fuel excise. Had those very important initiatives not happened a number of years ago, petrol prices would have been inflicting so much more pain at the bowser than they do now. That is a reasonably glib response to give to people who object to high petrol prices, but it is a simple fact that, if it had not been for the reforms of this government in doing away with fuel indexation and reducing fuel excise, the price at the bowser would have been considerably higher than it currently is.

When one considers that the price of fuel in Australia is largely caused by world fuel prices, I think that whenever possible we ought to become more fuel efficient and look at alternative sources of energy. That is why I for one was particularly pleased at the Prime Minister’s announcement, because the Prime Minister’s announcement, while appreciating that with the stroke of a pen we cannot solve the difficulty of high petrol and fuel prices, indicates that the government has a plan to be more fuel efficient and to make it possible for—to indeed encourage—people to use alternative forms of energy.

Included in the Prime Minister’s address was an announcement of a tax-free grant of $2,000 for converting private vehicles to LPG and a tax-free grant of $1,000 to buy new vehicles which are LPG ready. Service stations are eligible for a $20,000 grant to install ethanol fuel pumps, and the Prime Minister announced that there will be $134 million for increased exploration for, and mapping of, energy sources; expansion of a renewable energy program for remote communities; and the creation of a fund for solid-to-liquid fuel research. These announcements will not solve the difficulty of high petrol prices overnight, but the government has looked at what we, as elected representatives, are able to achieve to try to make sure that we are more fuel efficient and to give people choices.

Ethanol is a product that I believe has a great future, provided it is used appropriately. All of the indications are that fuel which has a certain percentage of ethanol is as good as fuel without ethanol. If ethanol is able to be produced economically—and I understand that it can be—then this will reduce the cost of petrol. It will make driving more affordable and the Australian community will substantially benefit.

While fuel prices are high, we ought not to forget that they are nowhere near as high here as they are at the bowsers in many other countries. One only has to look at the situation in Europe and the United Kingdom to see that vehicles there cost so much more to fill up. In fact, the cost of fuel in those countries is horrendous and we ought to give thanks that the cost of petrol and other fuels in Australia is so much more reasonable than in the United Kingdom or Europe.

You might say that in those countries you do not have the distances to travel that we have in Australia—and that is absolutely correct—but the cost at bowsers in Australia is very much less than in so many other First World countries. While it is important to give thanks for this and to appreciate that this is a very positive situation, it still does not ease the pain of those who have to produce their plastic or cash to fill vehicles with petrol at bowsers in Australia.

There will be some challenges, I imagine, for the infrastructure in bringing about the conversion of vehicles to use LPG. The infrastructure is probably limited and it may take some time for all of those who want to take advantage of this tax-free grant of $2,000 to change their vehicles and make them LPG ready, but I would hope that, as time goes on, factories will produce more vehicles which are able to take LPG so that the delay in conversions will not be ongoing. I suspect that, while there might be a delay to start with, it will only be temporary. The bulge will move through and then more people will be able to get cheaper fuel by using LPG, and as the factories produce more vehicles which are LPG ready, people will be able to buy, off the production lines, vehicles that are able to use LPG. In doing so, they will be able to access the lower fuel prices which apply.

Australia has the capacity to produce substantial quantities of ethanol through sugar cane and wheat, and I think it is important that we always look at alternative sources of energy, whether for fuel or other uses. I personally believe that we always ought to encourage the use of solar power. Solar power is, in many respects, an inexhaustible resource in a country with the hours of sunshine that we regularly have, and sometimes I get concerned that it is so expensive for people to get the benefits of putting a solar hot water system on the roofs of their houses.

But, having said that, the Prime Minister’s announcement on 14 August 2006 has been warmly welcomed throughout the electorate of Fisher and warmly welcomed more generally in the Australian community. It is not a panacea for high fuel prices, but it is a very clear and absolute indication that the government is aware of the pain being inflicted by high international fuel prices on Australian motorists and other users of fuel. It is also a recognition that the government is not able with the stroke of a pen to reduce fuel prices overnight.

Some people have actually contacted me and suggested that the government should subsidise fuel, that maybe it should either abolish fuel excise altogether or pay some subsidy to artificially reduce the cost of fuel to the Australian motorist. I think that would be counterproductive because the government uses fuel excise to achieve positive community outcomes. Fuel excise goes into the general revenue of the nation. If the government has less revenue, then it either has to cut services or raise other taxes. When you ask people what other taxes they would like to see raised, they are really unable to answer that.

So I think the Prime Minister’s statement is a very balanced approach. I consider that the government will continue to monitor very closely the fuel situation, to try to make sure that from time to time the government’s response is appropriate. I welcome in particular the initiatives with respect to alternative fuel, I welcome the subsidies to convert existing vehicles to become LPG ready and I also welcome the fact that a $1,000 subsidy will be given to those people who want to buy a new vehicle which is LPG ready. These are important incremental benefits with respect to a systemic problem—that is, high fuel prices—which is confronting Australia and confronting motorists and fuel users in Australia.

The government would love to be able to just wave a magic wand and solve the problem of high fuel prices, but the Australian community does respect the fact that the government is honest with it. The government has pointed out that high fuel prices are not the responsibility of Australia, the Australian government or the Australian people but are a problem worldwide. While the Australian community appreciates the fact that the government is not responsible for high fuel prices, the Australian people did want the government to do something, and the Prime Minister’s statement on 14 August will go a long way towards indicating to the Australian people that we are taking this problem very seriously, that we are doing what we can as a government to improve the situation and to improve outcomes.

I imagine that the government will continue to have a watching brief in relation to fuel. The government must constantly be prepared to make changes, make improvements and make reforms, particularly in the area of encouraging alternative fuels and renewable fuels. This government does have the runs on the board, and the Prime Minister’s statement of 14 August 2006 was another indication that we do in fact appropriately respond to community concerns and we do bring about good government policy that will benefit the Australian people.

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