Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've never seen Australians hurting like they are right now. Across my electorate, families, farmers and businesses are being smashed by skyrocketing fuel prices and fuel shortages—and they know something isn't adding up, because this cannot simply be blamed on the conflict in the Middle East.

What is truly alarming is this: the government and the ACCC do not appear to have a grip on the fuel supply chain at all. Instead of going after the real problem, they've been targeting mum-and-dad service stations, many of whom are selling fuel at a loss. That is not where the problem lies. The real issue is the diesel spot market. There are credible concerns about hedging and hoarding, and yet we are seeing no meaningful enforcement action. Normally the spot price sits within 2c or 3c of contract prices, but over the past three weeks we've seen blowouts of up to 90c per litre. That is not normal. Yes, there was a demand spike, but demand has already eased. That does not explain what is happening now. How do we explain reports of diesel supply to regional areas being cut by as much as 90 per cent, while the minister continues to claim there is no supply issue? Where is the fuel?

On 19 March, the ACCC finally announced an investigation into major suppliers. But why stop there? Why exclude other key players in the spot market like Park Fuels and United Petroleum?

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