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

Apologies. They now seek to criticise the work required to manage that reality, and, true to form, they've turned up at the end of the assignment to take credit for the work they didn't do. Meanwhile, this government is getting on with the job, keeping fuel moving, keeping the system functioning and making sure Australians are protected as much as possible from the global show. What we're seeing from those opposite right now is an absolute performance. We have a serious attempt to deal with a complex problem, and they come with all the energy and indignation of schoolkids insisting that someone has copied their homework. That might be convincing if they'd actually done any of the homework in the first place.

Australians understand what is going on here. While those opposite have been busy making claims, this government has been focused on three things: understanding the situation in real time, coordinating across the system and acting early to keep supply moving.

That starts with information. You cannot manage fuel security if you don't know what's happening across the network, what's in storage, what's moving through terminals and where disruptions are emerging. That is why this government has strengthened the information coming in: weekly reporting, new powers to require data and direct visibility over supply and distribution. If you're flying blind in a situation like this, you're already behind.

The second piece is coordination. Fuel doesn't move in neat, isolated boxes. It moves across jurisdictions, across industries and across supply chains that are tightly linked, so our response reflects that. That is why we've brought together industry, transport operators and the agricultural sector. That's why we've activated the national coordination mechanisms. In a disruption, what matters is making sure fuel gets to where it is needed most.

The third piece is acting early, not waiting for the crisis to fully land. We're not scrambling once shortages appear but stepping up early to expand supply and ease pressure. That's what these measures, like releasing stockholdings and adjusting standards, are all about. It's not theory. They're not announcements. These are, again, practical steps to keep the system moving. If your fallback is on another continent, you're not strengthening the system; you're distancing it from where it's actually needed.

When we hear those opposite now claim urgency, it's reasonable to ask: Where was that urgency when those decisions were being made? Where was the focus on resilience, on capability and on preparedness? You don't get to ignore those questions and then claim ownership of the solution now. You certainly don't get to accuse others of copying your work when what you left behind was not a plan but a gap. Right now, the difference is clear. On this side, there is a focus on information and on acting early to protect Australians. On the other side, there is a lot of noise, a very loud insistence that the work being done now was their idea all along. And Australians can see through that. They know the difference between preparing for a challenge and reacting to it after the fact. When it comes to fuel security, that difference matters, because this debate isn't about credit; it's about whether the country is ready when it counts. That is exactly what this government is focused on delivering.

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