Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose this motion because, while those opposite are very good at talking up concern, they are far less interested in acknowledging what is actually happening globally. Australians are not naive. They are watching global events unfold, particularly in the Middle East, and they understand that instability in energy markets has very real consequences here at home. They see it. They can feel it. What they expect from their government in moments like this is not panic; it is competence, coordination and a clear plan. That is exactly what this government is delivering.

We've been actively managing this situation, not reacting late and not scrambling but planning, coordinating and acting. We've boosted supply by releasing up to 20 per cent of fuel reserves. We've amended fuel standards to bring more supply into the market, and we've supported domestic refining capacity because sovereign capability matters, and we've put into place the coordination architecture needed to manage a challenge of this scale—a dedicated fuel supply taskforce; National Cabinet engagement; industry roundtables with transport, agriculture and fuel supplies; the National Coordination Mechanism activated; and the National Oil Supplies Emergency Committee convened. That is what a plan looks like.

Critically, we are also providing immediate practical relief to Australians. The government has halved the fuel excise for three months, cutting around 26c per litre off the price of petrol and diesel. That's real cost-of-living relief at around $19 off a typical tank at a time when households are under pressure. We've reduced the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero to help take pressure off freight and supply chains, because fuel is not optional in this country. It underpins everything. It's how food moves from farms to supermarkets. It's how medicines are delivered. It's how tradies, manufacturers and transport operators keep working. In outer metropolitan electorates like mine in Moore, that reliance is front and centre. Across our growing suburbs and around Joondalup, people rely on their cars to get to work, run small businesses and keep things moving.

Let's be clear, when fuel prices spike, it's not abstract in places like Moore. It's tradies cancelling jobs because the margins don't stack up. It's small businesses absorbing higher delivery costs. It's families thinking twice about every trip, from school drop-offs to weekend sport. That's why measures like halving the fuel excise matter, not as a media grab but as real relief right now.

Before coming to this place, I worked as an electrician on commercial and industrial sites, and I can tell you this: systems don't run on rhetoric; they run on planning, coordination and reliable inputs, like fuel. That is what this government understands. Compare it to those opposite, because we've seen this before. When Australia faced a national crisis during COVID, we saw what happens when planning isn't there—supply chains under pressure, confusion and a government scrambling to catch up.

When it comes to fuel security, their record speaks for itself. Four out of Australia's six refineries closed under the coalition. Two of those closures occurred when the current opposition leader was the energy minister, and, at that time, he said those closures would not negatively impact Australia's fuel supply. That is not just wrong; it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of fuel security, because, when you hollow out domestic refining capacity, you increase dependence on imports and you increase exposure to global shocks. That is exactly the vulnerability we are now working to manage. Then there is the decision to spend close to $100 million on storing fuel in the United States, 14,000 kilometres away. You do not strengthen Australia's fuel security by storing fuel on another continent.

When those opposite come in here and claim concern, Australians are entitled to ask where that concern was when the decisions that weakened our system were being made. The contrast is clear. They talked; we're acting. They weakened capacity; we are strengthening it. They outsourced resilience; we are rebuilding it. This motion suggests Australians should be worried that nothing is being done. That is simply not true. What is being done is significant, it is coordinated and it is focused on protecting Australians from the worst impacts of a volatile global environment. In moments like this, what matters is not who can raise the loudest concern; what matters is who is actually doing the work. This government is doing the work, and that is why I reject this motion.

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