Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Let me set the scene for you: 'Labor, the musical'. We are so fortunate to have our very own, the very talented Mr Ripley, who is described as a con artist who pretends to be many things, and, in the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the star of Labor, the musical is basically a one-man cast. 'Labor, the musical' has this incredible chorus line. It really is quite the performance, with a whole cast of those opposite singing, 'We care about those who are experiencing the cost of living.' They sing it with such caring and sincere faces. Another of Minister Bowen's roles in 'Labor, the musical' is playing the green superhero Captain Planet and, believe it or not, the energy minister also plays the part of Pinocchio. He wants to be a real boy—no, a real climate champion, Australia's part-time energy minister and president of the COP climate conference.

Pinocchio's lies made his nose grow longer. This morning we saw the minister saying he has empathy for farmers worried about diesel supplies. But then he said, 'We are managing a spike in demand, not impact on supply.' Last time I checked, supply and demand are kind of the same equation. If you don't have enough supply, there is a problem. If demand grows, supply has to grow with it or there is no good outcome. Out in my electorate in Mallee I have spoken to farmer after farmer after farmer who has said that their wholesale distributors are at risk of no supply. Some distributors in Mallee, when they've gone to their base distribution point in Melbourne, have been turned away. That says something about supply and demand.

I noted in question time that the minister said that Mildura had had a demand spike of 100 per cent. Really? So where is the fuel to fill those fuel bowsers so that the people of Mildura can get the petrol that they need, whether it's diesel or otherwise? It's not actually managing the situation when the supply is falling short. Orders are not being filled, independent distributors are having their supplies cut back or cancelled and depots are unable to source fuel. In one report to my office, as I said, a distributor was turned away in Melbourne.

In regional Australia, fuel stations are running out of fuel and what does the minister say? He says, 'There's no problem. There is no problem with supply.' All of those who live out in the regions know, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is a problem with supply. If the minister who is responsible does not open up the supply, that is on him.

This very tricky Albanese Labor government, indeed, the same minister, time after time fed Australians a pork sandwich—not pork pies, just a sandwich full of porkies. On one side of the sandwich, they are blaming the war in Ukraine for their failure to deliver the $275 energy bill relief. Every Australian remembers that promise. It was promised 97 times yet failed to be delivered. On the other side of this pork sandwich, they are saying now, in March 2026, that there's no supply issue; it's demand that's the problem.

Economics 101—supply and demand: believe it or not, a demand spike, whether warranted or not, creates supply issues. So what's driving Labor's behaviour here? Why pretend there's nothing to be concerned about, nothing to see here? When in doubt, look at Labor's form: raiding regions to buy votes in the cities. How does that happen? Are city motorists' concerns being put first, not our food security and fuel security? Are big businesses, large metropolitan operators, being prioritised under Labor? It's like the old Irish riddle, if a tree falls in a forest and no-one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Here's a Labor version: if voters suffer in regional Australia, has anyone suffered at all? We here in the Nationals are elected to be a voice for our farmers and regional communities. Fuel security is food security. Farmers want to sow the crop to feed our nation. Diesel deliveries are being held up, and this must stop.

See this speech in context