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

Australians are so often defined by how we treat each other, by how we treat other people. In ordinary times, that might be described as friendly. It might be described as easygoing. It might be described as being a good mate. But, in more challenging times, those traits of mateship often transform. They transform into resilience, they transform into dependability and they transform into being someone who stands ready when things are tough and when times are hard. That's what happens in challenging times, and there is no doubt that these are challenging times. There's a war in the Middle East right now, a conflict that is happening that originated so far from our golden sandy shores but that nonetheless is having an impact on the global economy. And it's also having an impact here at home. We know it's impacting on families. We know it's impacting on farmers. We know that it's impacting on businesses.

The test for leadership in challenging times is listening, it's setting out a vision for our country and it's making that vision a reality. We've pulled together leaders and experts—this Prime Minister, this Albanese Labor government to listen. We've set out a clear plan for that vision, and we are undertaking the practical action to make that plan a reality for the Australian people. In that practical plan, we are halving the fuel excise to make sure that every litre is cheaper. We are taking the heavy-vehicle road user charge down to zero to make sure that trucks can get to their destination. We are cracking down on those seeking to take advantage of a crisis in the Middle East. We are underwriting fuel purchases being made on the international market, to make sure we can get more fuel into our country and drive up supply. We are making sure that truckies are being treated fairly. We are releasing 20 per cent of our fuel reserves—reserves that are now held in this country—to make sure that we have more supply in the pot.

What I would say to those opposite is that talk without action is the natural enemy of reform. Leadership demands more than just a title. My message to those who sit opposite is this. This is the moment to get on board with Australia, this is the moment to choose the Australian people, this is the moment to choose our nation, this is the moment to be constructive, this is the moment to resist populism and this is the moment to back our country in.

Leadership is not about how you tear down the show, although members opposite might be forgiven for thinking that, given what we've seen over the past 12 months. Leadership is not about how loudly you shout. Leadership is not about how much fear you can whip up with talking points designed not to back in Australians but to reap advantage from a tough time, when the chips are down.

Deputy Speaker Claydon, if you want to know about leadership and if you want to know what this place is about, all you need to do is look up, because that skylight right there was put there to remind us that this place is more than just the people sitting in this chamber. It's about what's out there. It's about the Australian people. That's what leadership is. I remind members opposite to look up.

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