Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Energy Security and Affordability) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's fuel security remains dangerously exposed, with the nation holding among the lowest levels of sovereign fuel reserves in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;

(b) Australia imports over 90 per cent of its refined fuel, leaving critical supply chains vulnerable to geopolitical shocks, regional instability, and global market disruptions;

(c) regional, rural and transport-dependent communities are disproportionately exposed to fuel supply disruptions, particularly in the heavy vehicle and agricultural sectors;

(d) recent volatility in global fuel markets and the Government's failure to respond has massively increased costs for households and businesses, exacerbating cost of living pressures; and

(e) the Minister for Climate Change and Energy has:

(i) failed to deliver a comprehensive, whole-of-government fuel security strategy;

(ii) prioritised the net-zero energy transition without adequately safeguarding short-term liquid fuel resilience;

(iii) provided no clear contingency plan for maintaining diesel supply in the event of major import disruption; and

(iv) failed to provide certainty or support to transport operators exposed to volatile spot market fuel pricing;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) fuel security is a matter of national security, economic stability, and community resilience; and

(b) reliable access to diesel is essential for freight, agriculture, mining, emergency services, and regional supply chains;

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) urgently develop and implement a national fuel security plan, including increased onshore storage and refining capability;

(b) provide targeted support to transport operators, particularly small and owner-driver businesses, impacted by fuel price volatility;

(c) establish clear minimum stockholding obligations to meet or exceed international benchmarks; and

(d) deliver transparent reporting to Parliament on Australia's fuel security position and preparedness; and

(4) condemns the Minister for Climate Change and Energy for:

(a) failing to ensure Australia's fuel security at a time of increasing global uncertainty;

(b) neglecting the needs of regional Australia and the transport sector;

(c) placing ideological energy priorities ahead of practical national resilience; and

(d) being absent in a time of crisis, choosing to attend Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings instead of managing the crisis facing Australia.

Australia's fuel security remains dangerously exposed and, in moving this motion, I'm reminded of how long it took this government to accept the fact that we are in a fuel supply crisis. For weeks we were told there was no supply issue. We had that denial going on in this place in question time over and over again. What did we on this side of the House do? We laid out the blueprint for the response. We said, 'Simply look back to 2021 when we had the AdBlue crisis, when the coalition government forced the hand of the ACCC and forced the hand of the distributors to make sure that what was needed went to the people who needed it most.' We made sure that our trucks kept moving, our farmers kept farming and our miners kept mining. We did that, and we offered that blueprint. We said, 'Here's what to do.' Instead, what did we get? We got a minister telling our farmers to work from home and buy an EV. That message went down very well in my community! They really appreciated that! They thought that was excellent!

But why did we get this pretence from this minister? It's because, quite frankly, Chris Bowen is the Minister for Climate Change and Energy and he's big on the 'climate change' part. He wants to be president of COP31. He has put all of his attention into that. That's his focus. That's the international stage he gets to stride on. That's where he gets all the big pats on the back. But, when it comes to dealing with energy security and energy affordability, he has done very little to help this country. I point out that this is a minister who directed refineries in Australia to send liquid fuel that they were making here overseas. We were sending our liquid fuel away. Of course, through this whole period, what we've seen from this minister is an attempt, always, to blame everybody else for what's been happening. At the start of this crisis, he said it was right-wing scaremongering that was causing the crisis. Then it was panic-buying. Minister, you cannot panic-buy from an empty servo. We have empty servos throughout my region and just to the west. That's what we're dealing with. That's what we're experiencing.

This is an important conversation, because energy is the economy. Cheap energy is what drives national prosperity. We see that around the world. Other countries that are getting ahead of us and that are moving faster than us have cheap energy, and we've walked away from that. It goes beyond just wanting to bring back manufacturing. It goes beyond wanting to see more investment in farming or mining. It talks to our national strength. There is no military industrial complex without an industrial complex. If we can't make things then we have no ability to supply a front line. The greatest deterrent that we can have against foreign aggression is our ability to supply a front line, and we have left that aside. We have decided that it's more important to follow the 'climate change' part of the minister's remit than it is to focus on energy.

We are a little bit alone on this. The world's devotion to net zero and to focusing on climate change is shifting. We've seen that in the US, the UK and Canada and around the world. What are Japan doing right now? What Japan is doing in this fuel supply crisis is ramping up their coal-fired power stations because they want that cheap power. They know they need it. They know that's the way to get it. They're not afraid of saying the thing that is obvious. They're not afraid to say, 'The emperor has no clothes.' They are not afraid to say that coal is cheap and reliable and is an important part of the economy.

But don't just trust me on this. I may have my criticisms of the minister's work, but nothing tops what we hear today in the ABC, in an article from PK, Patricia Karvelas. This is the ABC, the far-right-wing fearmongering media piece that it is! Here's a quote from that article:

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has been the subject of deep internal criticism for what one senior Labor figure told me was his condescending style and failing to "meet the moment" with his language.

That's accurate. That is pinpoint accurate. It goes on further:

Albanese has now stepped in, standing next to him to deliver what have been daily updates about the government's handling of the fuel crisis.

Not only does this minister get someone to come in and do his job for him—the fuel crisis coordinator; he also gets the Prime Minister to hold his hand in press conferences because he is out of touch. He is completely out of control on this issue. If there's one little adage that we can see from this, it's quite simply that you can lead Chris Bowen to water, but you can't make him think. We've given him the answers. We've shown him the pathway, but he refuses to listen, and he's putting energy security last.

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