Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I also inform the House that the minister for energy has been talking with the independent suppliers even today—potentially multiple times today—for the work that we have done and the announcements that we have made today. The announcements have three important parts: working with industry to increase fuel supply to service stations, including by helping the fuel sector secure ACCC authorisation to coordinate supply and unlock bottlenecks; tasking the ACCC to ramp up its surveillance, particularly of unusual price spikes; and doubling the penalties for false or misleading conduct and cartel behaviour to a maximum of $100 million per offence across the economy.

So, the point that I'm making—and I say this respectfully to the member for New England—is that we don't need his invitation to engage with the industry. We've been doing that all along. We've been engaging with the ACCC as well, and that's why we've been able to make this announcement in the last hour or so.

As I said before and as the others have said, including the minister, the conflict overseas can't be seen as an excuse to profit off Australians. We are putting the petrol companies on notice. We won't cop big corporates treating Australian consumers like mugs. The steps we're taking today, in addition to the steps we have already taken, are all about getting fairer petrol prices for Australian motorists and more fuel supply at service stations, particularly in regional areas. We have spent a lot of time—I pay tribute to my ministerial colleagues for the work that we have put into this issue—and have been working through these issues in a methodical and considered way. And, as the transport minister made clear before, if those opposite really cared about fuel security, they wouldn't be engaged in the kind of scaremongering which makes things worse rather than better.

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