Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commends the Government's plan to build Australia's energy sovereignty, alongside growing our fuel reserves and supporting more fuels made in Australia to stay in Australia; and

(2) notes that a 20 per cent liquified natural gas exports domestic reservation scheme will:

(a) put strong downward pressure on domestic gas prices;

(b) shield our industry and households from global price volatility; and

(c) ensure Australia's energy security by avoiding potential gas supply shortfalls.

Right now, the world feels uncertain. Conflicts overseas, disruptions to global supply chains and rising energy costs are affecting everyday Australians. Fuel security, which often was not thought about in my lifetime, is now front of mind for many people right across regional Queensland, especially up my way with the vast distances of the Far North. That's why this government, the Albanese Labor government, is taking action to secure Australia's fuel for the long term.

For the record, here's what we're doing. We're buying more fuel. We're growing our national reserves of jet fuel and diesel to 50 days so Australia is better prepared for any future shocks. We're going to refine more fuel at home. We're investing in domestic refining capacity and storage so we're not as dependent on what can happen overseas. And we're keeping more fuel here. We're requiring gas companies to reserve 20 per cent of their exports for Australia so that our energy needs come first.

We provided relief for consumers and industry, secured fuel supplies, taken national leadership. We halved the fuel excise for three months, including foregoing extra GST on fuel, so that people wouldn't feel that pinch at the bowser, to give them the confidence to get to the places they needed to go. We passed new laws to double penalty for petrol companies for price gouging, and we tasked the ACCC to ramp up fuel price monitoring and issue on-the-spot fines. We also stepped in to support industry by pausing road user charges for truckies for up to three months, deferred the next increase of the heavy vehicle road user charge and gave the Fair Work Commission new powers to demand truckies are paid fairly when fuel prices spike. No matter what is happening in the world, the Labor government is focused on helping Australians here at home.

I'm sure shortly and throughout this debate members from the other side will stand up and talk about how this isn't a win and maybe tell us how they think they could do better. Of course, it's in the name—'opposition'. But, if you really want to get the facts in this debate, let's talk about what the Liberal and National parties and their partners in One Nation did while they were in government. Instead of storing fuel here in Australia, the Liberals and Nationals charged the taxpayer to store it in Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, but it's not particularly useful when there's an ocean between it and where you need to be!

The Liberals and Nationals also love to say how they want more fuel refined here in Australia, but how did that go for them? In Sydney, the Kurnell refinery closed in October 2014. In Brisbane, the Bulwer Island refinery closed in 2015. In Melbourne, the Altona refinery stopped refining fuel in 2020. In Perth, the Kwinana oil refinery closed in 2021. That's four of the six refineries we had left in Australia that have closed since 2014 and all under the watch of the Liberal and National parties. Two of them actually closed when the now Leader of the Opposition was the energy minister and while One Nation's leader in waiting, the member for New England, was the Deputy Prime Minister. At the time, the member for Hume said:

Closure of the refinery will not negatively impact Australian fuel supplies.

That has unfortunately not turned out to be the case. At some point you've got to stop putting politics over policy. We saw before Easter, when everybody was talking up the fuel crisis, that that mattered. Those words mattered. That impacted the tourism industry in my part of the world. People didn't come. That hurt small businesses.

Fear and division over something as important as fuel is not appropriate. So what we need to do is get the facts on the table. Let's talk about the specifics of this gas reservation policy. The government is introducing a domestic gas reservation so that LNG exporters supply a portion of their total production to the domestic market equivalent to 20 per cent of their exports. The domestic reservation scheme is expected to commence on 1 July 2027. We need to understand that gas will continue to be needed as we transition to renewable energy—keeping the lights on and ensuring the security of our energy system. The gas reservation scheme will apply to exporters. We are requiring them to reserve their production for the domestic market. It means Australian gas will work for Australians. It will deliver more supply and the lowest possible gas prices for users. It will boost sovereign capacity and strengthen our supply chains. We want a future made in Australia.

See this speech in context