Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

It's an absolute pleasure to follow the member for Wannon on this conversation, and I've got a few things I'll get to there on what he had to say. Every Aussie knows the feeling. You pull into the servo. You look at the numbers on the bowser and hope the tank doesn't need quite as much as you thought. For a lot of families, a lot of tradies, a lot of truckies and a lot of small businesses, fuel prices aren't some economic statistic; they're a weekly bill. They're part of the household budget, they're part of the cost of running a business and they're part of the reason people are still feeling pressure, even though we've made real progress on inflation. That's why I'm pleased to support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief No. 2) Bill 2026.

When people in places like Wyee, West Wallsend, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Broke and Singleton pull into a servo, they are not talking about excise rates or international oil markets. They're thinking about whether they can afford to fill the tank before dropping the kids off at school; whether they can go to work and back before payday; whether they can take the kids to the footy, the netball or the basketball that weekend; and whether they can keep the family budget afloat for just another week. In communities like those in the Hunter—where many people travel significant distances for work, where shift workers are on the road before dawn and home long after dark, and where public transport doesn't always get people to where they need to go when they need to get there—the car is often not a luxury but a necessity. It's how people earn a living. It's how families function. That's why fuel costs hit so hard.

This bill tells those beautiful Aussies, 'We understand the pressure, and we're taking practical action to help.' This bill extends fuel excise relief from 1 July to 2 August 2026. It means petrol and diesel excise will remain at 16c per litre, lower than it otherwise would have been during that period. Without this legislation, the original temporary fuel excise reduction would expire on 30 June and motorists would have to face the full increase immediately. Instead, this bill provides a much smoother transition into that. It tapers the support rather than ending it overnight.

For a family filling a standard 65-litre fuel tank, it means a saving of around $11 every trip. Every time they fill up, every time they go to that servo and fill that tank, that's $11. Now, $11 might not sound like much to a lot of people. But, for plenty of Aussies, $11 does matter. That's milk and bread. That's school lunches. That's helping cover the electricity bill. That's money staying in the household budget rather than disappearing at the bowser. When you're filling up every week, those savings certainly add up.

I think it's important to be clear about what this bill actually is. This isn't a permanent change. It's not a blank cheque, and it's not pretending that global events do not have consequences. It is a targeted and temporary measure designed to help Australians while fuel markets continue to stabilise. It's practical support at a practical time. Aussies have been dealing with the consequences of events far beyond our shores. The conflict in the Middle East created significant disruption to global fuel markets. Oil prices rose sharply, supply chains came under pressure, and motorists, families and businesses felt those impacts right here at home. Australians didn't create these problems, but they've had to pay for them, unfortunately.

The Albanese Labor government recognised that reality and acted. Earlier this year we introduced a temporary 32c per litre reduction in fuel excise for three months. That provided immediate relief when global fuel prices were at their absolute highest. Since then, conditions have improved. Petrol prices have come down significantly from their peak. Diesel prices have also eased, and that's extremely welcome news for the area of the Hunter. But, while conditions have improved, the pressure hasn't disappeared. People are still doing it tough. Families are still carefully managing their household budgets. Businesses are still watching every dollar, and truckies are still facing substantial operating costs.

That's why this bill matters. It recognises that recovery takes time. It avoids a cliff edge, and it provides a gradual return to normal settings rather than an abrupt change. That is simply better policy. It is better for households, it is better for businesses and it is better for economic stability. For communities right across the Hunter and this country, the smoother transition will make a real difference. Think about the disability support worker driving between clients across Teralba and Cooranbong. Think about the aged-care worker travelling between shifts. Think about the apprentice who's been driving from Edgeworth to the job site on the other side of Singleton. Think about the cleaner finishing a night shift and heading home before sunrise. These are all people that depend on their vehicles every single day, and fuel isn't an option for them. That's why we're doing this. That's why we're working on this cost-of-living relief and helping with fuel.

I also want to touch on a couple of points that the member for Wannon and those opposite brought up through the whole time we were going through this. I'm in the Hunter, and it is an absolutely beautiful area that people visit every day of the week. We're the second-largest tourism destination outside of Sydney in New South Wales. Unfortunately, because of some of those tactics used by those opposite—the scaremongering, the fear campaigning—they destroyed tourism in our area over Easter. We had businesses that were crying out to us, telling us, 'We're not getting the people through.' People were too scared to drive from Sydney to the Hunter because they were scared about getting fuel. There's more fuel in Australia now than there was before this conflict even started. This was a scare campaign; you guys were scaring motorists and travellers from coming up to the Hunter. That's what you guys opposite were doing.

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