Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Our road transport industry is vital to keeping Australia's economy moving. You see it in action in my community on our roads in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

The Western Freeway stretches over 250 kilometres, linking western Victoria to the rest of Melbourne. It's a major freight route, and it's why we're upgrading the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs. Our truckies keep our economy moving. They spend their days on the road, delivering the goods that our Aussie households and businesses rely on, and they are amongst those who are feeling the issues with fuel prices the most. It's why the Fair Work Amendment (Fairer Fuel) Bill 2026 is amending the Fair Work Act to enable the commission to respond more quickly to contractual chain order applications in time-sensitive circumstances. We need to make sure hard-working truckies and smaller road transport businesses are not pushed to the brink by these severe costs.

I'm a proud member of the Transport Workers' Union, a union that represents over 20,000 members in Victoria and Tasmania, many of whom are truck drivers. These are mums and dads with families living in my electorate, and these truck drivers are the backbone of our economy. After anticipating feedback from organisations like the TWU, the Australian Trucking Association, the National Road Freighters Association and the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation, we're amending the Fair Work Act to allow emergency powers to deal with surging fuel prices causing imminent risk to transport businesses and our national supply chains. I'd like to thank these organisations for their support and advocacy—in particular, the TWU.

As the Albanese Labor government, we have consistently taken a stand to give transport workers a fair go, delivering landmark workplace relations reforms with the clear goal of fair minimum standards for employee-like workers and the road transport industry. These changes responded to practices in the road transport industry that weren't sustainable, putting businesses, workers and their families under immense financial pressure. Our employee choice pathway has seen casual employees transition into permanent employment, and our closing loopholes legislation removed the loopholes that undermined a level playing field for employees as well as pay and job security and safety for workers. We're also looking after our truckies by cracking down on sham contracting, with stronger protections against sham contracting and compliance reform from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Taxation Office and stronger penalties for employers who dodge their obligations to their employees.

We are a party that fights for workers, and we fight for transport workers. When it comes to fuel price hikes, we will not back down. These surging costs are felt right across the community, including by everyday Aussies in my community, who are feeling the surge in petrol prices. That's why we're also introducing new legislation to double penalties for petrol companies that are price gouging. What petrol companies are doing to inflate prices at servos in my community, across our cities and, in particular, in regional Australia must stop. We won't cop corporations taking advantage of Aussie consumers, and conflict overseas is no excuse. My message to my community in Melbourne's western suburbs is: when you go to the servo you deserve a fair go at the petrol pump, and any corporations that engage in misconduct, ripping you off, should face bigger penalties. We've already increased penalties up to $50 million—five times higher than they were before—and we've given the ACCC more tools, like extending petrol price monitoring powers and the ability to issue on-the-spot fines.

How have the opposition responded to the real concerns of Aussies about the price of petrol? They've responded with politics, with rhetoric and with bad-faith attempts to manufacture fear and outrage. Instead of doing their job, they've rushed this bill in today in a blatant political stunt. This is not a genuine attempt to help Australians. It's just more evidence that those opposite are not focused on the real needs of everyday Aussies. They vote against every single cost-of-living measure that this government introduces. They do nothing but play politics in their own party room, and now they're playing politics on the floor of this chamber.

Our government is delivering for Australians. We have Australians' backs during times of crises, and we have the backs of truckies and all Australians at the bowser. On that note, I commend this bill to the House.

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