Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a truly bizarre contribution from the member for Forrest—extraordinary, bizarre and a bit wild. The member for Forrest has just got up here to bang on about denigrating net zero when net zero has given many, through an incredibly challenging time, electrification, which has helped inoculate them from an incredibly difficult time when it comes to fuel. The member for Forrest has gotten up attacking industry super—superannuation that the coalition, throughout their entire time in this place, have always spoken against, have always said that they didn't agree with. Superannuation is something, right now, that is securing the futures of millions of Australians across this country. The member for Forrest got up and started talking about cronies and DEI. I tell you what: right now is not the time for that kind of contribution, because right now is a serious time.

Fuel is not just unleaded and it's not just diesel either. Fuel is what helps us get from home to work and back again, fuel is what helps us get produce from farms to the supermarket to people's tables, fuel is what helps cart the kids around to Saturday morning sports and fuel is what helps us make sure that Australians get the support they need when their health is in trouble. It is a critical part of our way of life in this country, and right now Australians are truly feeling the rise of those costs. They're feeling it at the hip pocket. They're also feeling it when they go to the grocery store. They're feeling it when they pay their bills. This is something that is impacting so many people and families across our country. It's important that we take that impact seriously and that we act, which is what the Albanese Labor government is doing.

Right now there is a war in the Middle East. There is global uncertainty, and this is being felt not just in our country but in so many different places across the world. What that demands is not cheap talk. What that demands is not puffery from the member for Forrest. What it demands is a plan and putting that plan into action, and the Albanese Labor government has done just that.

We are not only globally well placed but we have also focused on three core things to make sure that we can get Australians the relief that they need. First, we know that we need to get fuel into this country and we need to keep fuel in this country, and that's why the Albanese Labor government has temporarily amended the fuel standards. It's why we've released 20 per cent of the baseline stockholding, it's why we brought our reserves back to this country so that they could be accessed when Australians needed them and it's why we're underwriting the purchase of fuel being sold on international markets by the private sector.

Second is getting fuel to the people who need it, and that's why we were in this place last week moving legislation to ensure that truck drivers are treated fairly and to ensure that the movement of goods is protected through a difficult time. It's why this government has been a driver of coordination not just between experts and between stakeholders but between leaders across our country, with a taskforce designed to make sure that we continue to coordinate, continue to take action and continue to roll out that plan.

What beggars belief in this place is that those opposite oversaw the closure of two-thirds of the country's refineries. What beggars belief in this place is that the opposition stored fuel reserves on the other side of the globe, on the other side of the world, on another continent. And what beggars belief is that they oversaw the closures of urea facilities. Australians deserve better than that.

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