Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following from occurring immediately:

(1) the Member for Calare presenting a bill for an Act to amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and for related purposes;

(2) debate on the second reading of the bill proceeding immediately for a period of no longer than one hour; and

(3) any questions required to complete passage of the bill then being put without delay.

Today I introduce to this House the Fair Fuel Price Bill 2026. It is a bill which would allow the Commonwealth government to temporarily regulate fuel prices during periods of extraordinary global disruption, such as war or similar crises. It would allow the minister, in particular the Treasurer, to make fuel price determinations that impose price controls on unleaded petrol and/or diesel. It needs to be considered urgently, because our country is in the midst of a devastating fuel crisis. Both country and city communities are being pummelled by these skyrocketing prices. It's smashing our local businesses, and it's stinging everyone from families to pensioners.

Urgent action is required. Leadership is required, and it is required now. The Fair Fuel Price Bill would reintroduce fuel price controls of the type ushered in during the Second World War to Australia. In 1939 this parliament passed the National Security Act, which gave the Australian government the power to set fuel prices for the duration of that conflict. It was aimed at preventing price gouging, and it was effective. This Fair Fuel Price Bill also gives the government the power to set fuel prices for the duration of the current conflict in the Middle East. Our communities are crying out for action, and they expect their leaders to be leading with tangible solutions, not just cheap talk.

Sky-high prices are throttling our community members and businesses. Our farmers can't get the diesel they need to get their crops in the ground. When they can get diesel, they are paying through the nose for it. Without action, this fuel crisis could very quickly spiral into a food security price crisis. As of yesterday, 51 service stations across New South Wales had completely run out of fuel, while a further 164 sites had no diesel available. Today apparently there are about 630 stations across the nation running out of fuel. People living in the bush have been putting up with the price gouging of country motorists for years, with enormous disparities between city and country fuel prices. The difference can be as high as 40c a litre. Mudgee has been a hot spot for years for price gouging. In Yeoval today, they're paying just over $3.30 for diesel. That's well above the city price. In Bathurst today, it's $3.20.

This latest war in the Middle East has again brought the issue of price gouging into stark relief. The government needs a taskforce to tell it if there is price gouging occurring, but our communities do not. They're tired of all the talk and no action. We need decisive leadership. The ABC's Alan Kohler recently pointed out that Australian retail petrol prices have risen to levels higher than in 2022, even though global crude oil prices have not returned to those peaks. He points out that this discrepancy indicates that retail margins have expanded significantly. In other words, it points to price gouging.

This bill amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to introduce section 51 AG relating to fuel price determinations. Section 1 empowers the minister, being the Treasurer, to make a legislative instrument establishing price controls for unleaded petrol and/or diesel supplied in constitutional trade and commerce. Subsection (2) defines such an instrument as a fuel price determination. Subsection (3) provides a safeguard by requiring that the minister must be satisfied that fuel prices have increased due to a war or similar crisis before making a determination. This ensures that the power is only exercised in exceptional circumstances. Subsection (4) requires the minister—that is, the Treasurer—to consult with the Prime Minister prior to making a determination ensuring high level oversight. Subsection (5) requires that the minister must revoke a fuel price determination once satisfied that the relevant war or crisis has ended, ensuring that price controls are temporary.

This fuel crisis is hitting our businesses, it's hitting our families, it's hitting our pensioners, it's hitting our country workforce, and, because country residents have further distances to travel, sky-high fuel prices have a disproportionately harsh and damaging effect on country communities. Here is just one example: Christie, a nurse who lives in the Canowindra area and works at Orange, says, 'The financial strain has become overwhelming. As an assistant in nursing earning $26.61 an hour, I commute an hour each way to work. With current fuel prices, it is no longer financially viable for me to continue in my role. Despite working full-time, I have been forced to take on a second job just to survive. Even then, I was left with only $2.30 in my account this week after paying my mortgage. I am currently limiting myself to one meal a day so that my children can have three.' She's also completing her bachelor of nursing and says, 'The cost of fuel now threatens my ability to complete mandatory placements.' She says, 'The situation is unsustainable. Nurses are being pushed to the brink, and the consequences are being felt by the communities we serve.' You couldn't get a more pertinent testimony about how this price gouging is affecting country communities.

I have received an email by a parent in our electorate who reports that, with respect to schooling, this week they have been told that certain excursions will need to be curtailed because fuel is too expensive or hard to come by for the buses, and families are unable to cover the increasing cost of transport to excursion and sporting events, with household bills and interest rates continuing to rise. The correspondence goes on and on. The pain is real and it is being compounded because, in our part of the world, the Great Western Highway is closed. On the weekend I spoke to Ken Muldoon from Little Hartley. He runs a family haulage company and told me about the massive impacts that the skyrocketing fuel prices and the closure of the Great Western Highway are having on his business. It's twice the cost because of fuel, twice the time because of the highway closure and half the profit, and he makes it very clear that it's just not sustainable.

As I've said, if farmers can't get the diesel they need, the crops cannot be planted and, if the crops can't be planted, this nation does not eat; it's as simple as that. Many farmers have contacted me with examples of them placing orders for diesel for on-farm fuel, and their suppliers have just failed to turn up. It just doesn't arrive when they need it. We need to control these prices and the fuel supply for country Australia. The government's recent initiatives don't go far enough. The ACCC does not have sufficient power. The government wants to increase penalties for price gouging, but I don't think that is going to do very much at all, with all due respect to the government, because there have only been a handful of successful prosecutions for petrol price gouging over the last 20 years. We have been fighting price gouging in the Mudgee area for a long time, and, when we raise it with the government, they say, 'Go and see the ACCC.' We have a meeting with the ACCC. They meet with us with good faith and with the best will in the world but nothing happens. We're sick of it. Our country communities are sick of it. They are being strangled by these sky-high prices, and we want some positive action, not just window-dressing. Increasing penalties for price gouging is going to do nothing if you can't actually prosecute them properly. And we've hardly seen any successful prosecutions. That's the problem with the government's approach.

We don't need a taskforce out there to tell us that price gouging is occurring. Ask anyone out there. You've heard the emails; you've heard from our constituents. Many members have come into this place and told stories of the pain and suffering that is being inflicted on families and pensioners and businesses because of these skyrocketing fuel prices. Well, we need some leadership, and this is the moment to take it. This bill should be used as part of a suite of measures to control these skyrocketing prices. Look, during COVID, the fuel excise was halved for six months. Why is the government not doing this again?

Communities around our nation are at breaking point. Decisive action is needed to stop the gouging and deliver fair fuel prices to the Australian public. I urge all members of this House to come in now, support this bill and deliver urgent and badly needed price relief to the Australian public.

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