Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, and likewise congratulate her on her contribution in this House. In the time that she's been here, she has been a much valued colleague.

Securing Australia's fuel supply has been the focus for this government since 28 February. Since the National Security Committee met at eight o'clock in the morning on the day after the bombing of Iran, that has been our focus—and in all the meetings since. It was our focus when we changed the fuel quality standards. It was our focus when we released 20 per cent of the strategic reserve. It was our focus when we changed the diesel standards. These were all actions undertaken by this government—not called for by the opposition, not suggested by the opposition.

The opposition, when we've done it, have said, 'They've been too late,' even though they've never suggested them in the meantime and have never called for those actions. But it's also what's driven our legislation in relation to giving Export Finance Australia the capacity to support Australian importers and refiners to go and get the fuel that is available in the world for Australians. I'm pleased to tell the House that the legislation, of course, passed the House on Monday, passed the Senate tonight and will be submitted to Her Excellency the Governor-General for signature this evening, and subject to her agreement will be the law of the land and will be implemented tomorrow.

But we're not waiting. I can also tell the House that Export Finance Australia has been in detailed conversation with 10 separate companies about going and getting those cargoes, and those conversations started on Sunday, just after the Prime Minister and I announced this intervention. This gives us the best chance in a very difficult international environment—with supply chains under real pressure, with real pressure from the Middle East—to go and get those cargoes for Australians, where we want them in the national interest. And that's a good thing.

We also continue our engagement with our supply partners, our international partners. This morning, I met with my friend and much valued colleague the Singaporean minister for energy Dr See Leng Tan, who is in Australia at the moment, to discuss the energy crisis. I had a very good chat with him. He informed me he's gone to see Senate question time, which I told him was a very poor choice on his behalf! Nevertheless, he's in the Senate chamber as we speak. He assured me, as Prime Minister Wong assured Prime Minister Albanese earlier this week, that Singapore regards their role in supplying our liquid fuel security most seriously indeed.

Tomorrow, I'll be meeting with my Brunei ministerial counterpart, Dato Azmi, who is another important supplier for Australia. That discussion is important as well in terms of ensuring the flow of energy between our two great nations, Brunei and Australia. So, whether it's international engagement or giving our agencies the tools they need to get the job done, securing Australia's fuel security has been our focus since 28 February. (Time expired)

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