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

I rise on the motion that grievances be noted, and I want to raise a grievance about fuel security and, more specifically, about the way in which those opposite have chosen to conduct themselves in this moment. Australians can see what's going on globally—instability in the Middle East, pressures on supply chains and increased demand. We, the Australian people, all feel it every time you pull into a servo. It's not abstract. It's not theoretical. It is a real supply challenge. And, in that environment, this government has acted. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, hasn't been sitting back and issuing commentary. He's been intervening directly to keep fuel moving. That includes forcing suppliers to get fuel into regional and independent servos that were running dry—not asking nicely, just making it happen. When supply tightens, you don't just hope the market sorts itself out. We're getting ahead of the problem because we want to step in and make sure Australians aren't left stranded. Alongside that, we've released fuel from stockholdings to boost supply, adjusted standards to bring more fuel into the system and coordinated nationally across governments and industries. That is what managing a supply shock looks like.

The grievance is what we're seeing from those opposite. Instead of contributing constructively, unlike the member for New England, they've defaulted to a familiar routine. They're like that kid from school that didn't do the work in the group assignment, was nowhere to be found when it actually mattered and then somehow rocked up at the end, hand out, ready to take all the credit. The problem is that this is not the first time we've seen this. When they were in government, when they actually had responsibility, what did they do? They oversaw the closure of four out of the six refineries in this country, and we were told it wouldn't matter. Now we know exactly how much that matters. Once that capability is gone, you're more exposed, you are more dependent on imports and you are far more vulnerable when global conditions turn against you. They've also talked about minimum stockholdings but never delivered them. And, in what may be one of the most remarkable decisions in energy policy in this country's history, they spent close to $100 million storing fuel not here in Australia but in the United States, 14,000 kilometres away. That is not a back-up plan. That's a postcard. This is where the minister has been very clear. In a crisis, you don't just observe the market, you make sure it works.

I didn't come into this place as someone who worked behind a desk. I was a sparky. I worked all across Western Australia. I've worked in the Pilbara. I've worked in Kalgoorlie. I've worked all across the state. I can tell you that the systems don't care who takes credit. They either work or don't. They either have reliable inputs or fail. Fuel is one of those inputs. And, when that input is disrupted, the consequences don't stay contained. They spread through freight, through construction, through supply chains and ultimately into the cost of living. That's why this matters. That's why fuel has been directed into regional areas. It's why supply has been increased. It's why coordination has been stepped up—because the alternative is what we saw under those opposite, a system left exposed, hoping global security would remain stable. And, as we are seeing now, that is not something you can rely on.

This isn't just about fuel. This is a pattern. The Liberal Party has spent years claiming to be the better economic managers, but that reputation rested on the work done by Labor—the hard reforms, the structural changes and the difficult decisions taken under leaders like Paul Keating. Labor does the heavy lifting. These guys just inherit the benefits and then claim the title, and now we're seeing the same thing play out again.

This matters in places like Moore because fuel isn't optional. It affects people commuting across Perth's northern suburbs, small businesses trying to keep costs down and supply chains bringing goods into our community. While Moore is metropolitan, it is connected to regional WA, to freight, to agriculture and to the broader community. When fuel supply tightens, the impact doesn't stay in one place. It flows through everything.

The grievance is simple: those opposite had the opportunity to strengthen fuel security, and they didn't. Now they seek to criticise the work required—

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