Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

It was in 1966 that the late Robert F Kennedy delivered a speech in which he said:

There is a Chinese curse which says "May he live in interesting times." Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind.

However, Senator Kennedy didn't know just how darkly interesting and dangerous the times would get when he said these words. Tragically, he was assassinated two years after he spoke them. In 2021, more than half a century later, much of what he said then applies now, to our times.

To understand how interesting the times are getting, you only need to read the editorials of the Global Times newspaper, long considered to be a trumpet of the policies of the Chinese communist government. A recent editorial thundered that if Australia were to join a US effort to protect Taiwan from an invasion by China then China should consider long-range strikes against us. The editorial darkly stated that Australia 'must know what disasters it would cause to their country'. Whilst I acknowledge that such rhetoric doesn't automatically come true, we need to also look at the Middle East, where we've seen deep tensions break into outright warfare once more. It means two things: a tragic human cost for the Palestinians and Israelis and a financial cost at the bowser for consumers everywhere else.

Even as we emerge from COVID, and, hopefully, put the worst of the pandemic behind us, we are reminded by our grounded jumbo jets and unvisited loved ones overseas that when the chips are down we are an island continent: on our own. I don't seek to paint a picture of doom and gloom or make the listeners of this debate sullen and depressed and frustrated at the state of the world. The women and men of this country are up to most any challenge that the fates can throw at us, so I'm an Australian optimist who's optimistic about Australia.

This is why, for so long, I have fervently advocated for a national fuel reserve. I've been a believer in this vital undertaking for years, but the advent of these interesting times makes it more pressing than ever. Boosting Australia's fuel stocks is one of the important national security measures that can also protect our economy from global disruptions. Once upon a time, Australia was a net exporter of oil, but as we've become more reliant on the global fuel market we've also become more vulnerable to international risks and uncertainty. One answer is to increase our national fuel security; therefore, we need to increase our national fuel stocks. I acknowledge there are other solutions—moving towards electric vehicles, developing our hydrogen industry—but I do believe that whatever other policies this nation adopts we need to increase our national fuel stocks.

I believe in this approach so much that I took it to the last election. The coalition refused to match it, saying it was too expensive. When we didn't win and the Morrison government was elected they came up with their own version of our fuel reserve policy. They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but the knock-off version here was so bad I didn't feel particularly flattered. The major hitch with the $94 million Liberal fuel plan announced by Angus Taylor in April last year was—and I ask listeners listening to the parliamentary debate to consider this—that the Liberals came up with the idea of an Australian fuel reserve to be based in the United States of America for the next 10 years. That's not very wise; it's not very Australian. If a pandemic or regional unrest cuts off supply lines from overseas then the Liberal fuel reserve will be about as useful as a concrete parachute.

In June the Liberals and Nationals made vague gestures towards expanding domestic fuel reserves, but any advances in this direction have been ad hoc and incremental. I want to suggest in this debate that the government should again look at my vision for fuel reserves. It wasn't just for local fuel reserves but also for a national strategic fleet to secure our access to fuel supplies, particularly in times of global instability. Anthony Albanese was then my transport spokesperson. We worked on our shipping policy, and I'm very proud of the final result. Over time we would have built up a decent sized fleet of merchant ships, including oil tankers, container ships and gas carriers. The need for a genuine national fuel reserve was very strong and we had four domestic refineries. When I was an organiser with the Australian Workers Union in the fuel and oil industry we had eight refineries. In 2019 we were down to four refineries. Unfortunately, in the time since the election in 2019 the number of refineries in Australia, which was already too low at four, has been slashed in half. We now have two refineries remaining. Now the government is suddenly making noises that they care about these things—better late than never, but it really is five minutes to midnight.

It would have been nice if the government had done what we're talking about now, perhaps by backing Labor's policies in a bipartisan fashion before the election or even coming up with theirs before the election, but particularly before ExxonMobil announced it was closing the Altona refinery in Yarraville and BP announced the closing of Kwinana in Western Australia. We may be an island nation largely on our own, albeit with a few good friends in our neighbourhood, but that should focus our energy or attention on the fact that if things get interesting no-one will be wanting to race to our rescue as much as ourselves. Good luck and hope are not plans for national security. A significant domestic fuel reserve is, in my view, an idea whose time has come.

I wish to close by noting that today is the 78th anniversary of the sinking of the United States Army transport Portmar. The Portmar wasn't sunk in a far ocean; it was sunk 35 nautical miles east of Smoky Cape near Coffs Harbour. The Portmar was built in 1919. It was 125 metres in length and its beam was 17 metres. It was a big ship. On the morning of 15 June—78 years ago yesterday—it was loaded with ammunition and fuel. It left Sydney for Brisbane as part of convoy GP55. The convoy had 10 merchant ships and three landing ship tank vessels escorted by the Royal Australian Navy vessels Bundaberg, Cootamundra, Deloraine, Kalgoorlie and Warrnambool. Yet 35 nautical miles off the Australian coastline on the east coast, at 5.15 pm in the evening of this day 78 years ago, the Japanese cruiser submarine I-174 fired a spread of torpedos. One torpedo struck one of the landing ship tank craft and another hit Portmar. The Portmar sank 10 minutes later. Two merchant marine seafarers were killed. The 71 survivors were taken aboard other ships and headed to Coffs Harbour.

People might think that what happened in the past remains in the past. But we're an island nation, we don't have enough ships, we don't have enough fuel reserves and all the great technology in the world and all the defence spend in the world is rendered meaningless if we can't actually keep running our vessels and our vehicles and we can't bring cargo to and from this country. We are an island and the world doesn't owe us a living. We need to stand up and start thinking for ourselves, and perhaps remember that 78 years ago Australian seafarers and Australian service people went in harm's way. We need to ask ourselves: if that could happen then, why are we sure it can't happen now and in the future? As the American sailors on the Portmar were killed defending this country, perhaps we owe it to their memory to do more to defend ourselves.

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