Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate of O'Connor is ground zero for net zero. I've spoken recently about the devastating effects of Labor's safeguard mechanism, capacity mechanism and vehicle emissions reduction scheme on our miners and primary producers. Now they're coming after the diesel fuel rebate scheme.

Just to be clear, the diesel fuel excise is designed to fund the maintenance of Australia's public roads, so the fuel credit scheme rebates diesel used for off-road business activities—activities like the seeding and harvesting of grain; the irrigation, mechanised pruning, picking and packing of our fruit and veg; and the fuelling of boats used to sustainably harvest O'Connor's premium finfish, abalone and southern rock lobster.

For our mining operations that extract gold, coal, bauxite, nickel, lithium, graphite and rare earths, this will add to the already considerable costs of complying with the safeguard mechanism. An O'Connor miner recently stated that they are investing in solar and wind power at twice the cost per megawatt hour of diesel generation and are installing battery storage at twice the cost per megawatt hour, and they still need diesel generators to back it all up.

Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean recently described the diesel fuel rebate scheme as insane. But what is insane is to further harm the primary producers who feed and clothe our nation and the miners extracting the very minerals on which this government's net zero aspirations rely.