Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable the Manager of Opposition Business proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The Government's failure on fuel prices and fuel distribution.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sadly, Australians should be very concerned today, because the person in charge of trying to make sure that fuel is distributed across this country has one of the worst ministerial track records this country has ever seen. You have only to go back to his period of time as immigration minister, when we saw more deaths at sea and more people arrive on this shore than nearly any other Labor minister has ever achieved. Go back to his time when he was assistant Treasurer, when he was actually encouraging bigger deficits and higher taxes. Go back to his record when it comes to grocery watch and fuel watch. Remember that? Remember fuel watch? He doesn't seem to be using it now. I wonder why. Then, of course, there was the promise of $275 off your power bill. How did that go? I think we're all still waiting. I think all the Australian people are waiting.

But it gets better. In the House today he said that his door is open and if you've got a problem, if anyone in industry has got an issue then you just give him a call and he'll make sure that he'll talk to you, he'll deal with the issue and there's no problem. So one of our MPs, who will remain nameless—he can out himself, but I was happy to keep it quiet. I'm happy for him to out himself. He actually has requested to go and see the minister about one of his constituents on the Mooloolaba wharf that has no diesel. So we're not going to get tuna. We're not going to get tuna. Guess what the response was? 'The minister is unfortunately unable to meet with individual requests due to a high number of requests.' It reminds me of Corporal Jones of Dad's Armydon't panic, don't panic, don't panic! So you want us to legitimately put requests to you about people who are hurting in our electorates because of higher fuel prices and because they can't get fuel, and you won't even take those requests because of the high number that are coming in your door.

What this points me to is another big problem that this minister has.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's part time.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's part time. You are absolutely right, Member for Grey. This is what happens when you are a part-time minister and your focus is on the United Nations and on being part-time 'el presidente'—remember he has to share it; remember he had to compete to share it. This is the problem. While Australians suffer with higher fuel prices and not being able to get fuel, his mind is elsewhere. If you want to get a sense of why this minister has his mind elsewhere—we saw it today. I wish I hadn't taken a point of order on this, but I had to on behalf of the constituent who'd raised the question. We had the minister quoting the minister on the minister. Doesn't that say it all? No wonder he wants to be over at COP being 'el presidente'. That's where his ego wants to take him. What we're saying to the minister is it's time to put all that aside. Forget about quoting yourself on yourself and start getting back to the Australian people.

The Australian people are doing it tough at the moment. In some instances they've seen a 40 per cent increase in the price at the bowser. Can you imagine? You're struggling with the cost of living, and you turn up to the bowser and there's a 40 per cent increase in fuel. You have to start thinking, when you're driving the kids home from school, 'Does that mean I don't stop at the shop for a snack?' Does that mean, when your son or daughter comes and says, 'I wouldn't mind a new pair of soccer boots, because I put a hole in them,' you think to yourself, 'Sadly, that money's now going into my fuel tank rather than providing my kids with that new pair of soccer boots'? Does that mean that those who are struggling to pay the bills to feed their families now have more costs and have to start rationing their food even further or they have to start thinking about rationing their fuel? This should not be the case in this country at the moment. We have a distribution issue. The minister is not delivering the fuel where it needs to go, and we've pointed out to him how he could do this: be on top of your game, don't be a part-time minister, call the independent distributors in, call the fuel companies in and use the information that you have available from the mechanisms that we put in place to deliver that fuel where it needs to go.

It does seem like the minister today, following the absolute towelling he got in question time yesterday, has decided to act and it sounds like he's starting to make some decisions which might see some of the shortages ameliorate. But the problem is that—and we saw it on the front page of the Fin Review today—in some instances it's too late. With regard to the example on the front page of the AFR today, that farmer who is wanting to put a crop in cannot get the fuel to put his crop in. The more farmers that happens to, the less food security this nation has. What will that ultimately lead to? It will lead to supermarket price rises. This is the incompetence of the minister for energy. Not only are people paying more at the bowser but they're going to be paying more at the supermarket. Put that on top of what is happening with inflation in this nation, and this is a serious cause for concern.

We had the NAB out today saying it's highly likely we'll get an interest rate rise next week. And guess how much the average Australian is paying on their mortgage? An additional $23,000, as a result of the economic mismanagement of the Labor government—$23,000. I look forward to hearing what the assistant minister has to say about this when he gets up to speak, because not only are we paying more at the petrol pump, not only are we paying more at the supermarket, but, since you've come to office, those people with a mortgage are paying $23,000 more on their mortgage repayments. So we have a serious cost-of-living crisis in this country.

Our standard of living is declining daily. And yet that hapless lot over there can do nothing to turn around this standard-of-living decline. As a matter of fact, what we've seen this week is that the Minister for Climate Change and Energy is making it worse.

So I say this to the Prime Minister. He concluded today—when Australians are doing it tough, when Australians are doing it hard—by turning his attention to us. Yet you know what the Prime Minister said, when he was in opposition? He complained, every single time we turned attention onto them. So I'd say to the Prime Minister: Stop being a hypocrite, and focus on the Australian people. Focus on getting your ministers to do their job. Get your minister for energy to do his job. Get your Treasurer to do his job. Make sure that you help and assist Australians with this standard-of-living crisis, because everything your government is doing is making it worse.

I'll finish on this note. I'll say this to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy: Your track record as a minister means you should not be sitting in that seat. And what you are doing to the Australian people, through your incompetence on fuel price rises and fuel shortages, should absolutely be damned.

Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the beginning of 2022, after claiming that only the coalition could be trusted to keep petrol prices low, the Morrison government saw petrol prices hit 216c a litre in Sydney and 212c a litre in Melbourne. What did fuel companies face if they were engaged in a breach of the competition law? They faced not a serious penalty but a slap on the wrist—a $10 million penalty, that really wasn't a penalty; it was the entrance fee to the bad behaviour club. The fuel industry is one of our more concentrated industries. The big four have more than two-thirds of the market, compared to just a fifth for the big four fuel retailers in the United States. And so, when we came to office, we raised the penalties for anticompetitive conduct. We raised that maximum dollar figure from $10 million to $50 million—a five-fold increase—because, under Labor, penalties will not be a cost of doing business.

Today, the Treasurer, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy and I have announced that a Labor government will double penalties for false or misleading conduct and cartel behaviour, up to $100 million per offence, across the economy. This very clearly demonstrates that only Labor can be trusted when it comes to looking after consumers and ensuring we have a more competitive and dynamic economy.

Under the coalition, we saw a rise in market concentration, an increase in mark-ups and a decrease in the small-business-creation rate, and we saw significant signs that the Australian economy wasn't as dynamic. Under Labor, we've set about putting in place a strong competition agenda. We've reformed Australia's merger laws—the biggest overhaul of our merger laws in 50 years—to ensure that the competition watchdog is able to properly scrutinise mergers and keep a lid on excessive market concentration in the economy. We've got national competition policy going again, with a $900 million productivity fund, working with the states and territories to try and get those sorts of productivity-boosting competition reforms that turbocharged productivity and boosted household living standards to the tune of some $5,000 a household in the 1990s. Reflecting that 1990s experience, we've refreshed the National Competition Council, now chaired by Marcus Bezzi, and we're working collaboratively with states and territories on a robust competition agenda. Labor knows that if we are to get productivity going again after it languished for the nine years in which the coalition was in office, we need competition reforms that'll work for Australians.

Today the Treasurer, the energy minister and I announced that we will task the ACCC to ramp up fuel price monitoring, reporting weekly, with a focus on unusual price spikes. We'll work with industry to increase fuel supply to service stations, including by helping the fuel sector secure ACCC authorisation to coordinate supply and unlock bottlenecks. This follows the Treasurer having written to the ACCC last week asking them to ensure that motorists aren't being taken for mugs. The ACCC has issued their own statement to retailers.

Labor has convened relevant forums: the National Coordination Mechanism to respond to emerging supply chain issues, the Trusted Information Sharing Network and the National Oil Supplies Emergency Committee. We've seen very volatile global oil prices. They jumped over the last few days to over $120 a barrel, falling back to $80 a barrel and then rising to $90 a barrel over a matter of hours. Australia is not immune to the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy, but our measures are about ensuring that petrol suppliers are doing the right thing and ensuring that the small minority of bad actors can't hurt regional Australians or farmers.

We need to be clear: Australia is not experiencing a fuel shortage. We're seeing localised disruptions due to significant spikes in demand. We have not had a single ship carrying oil to Australia that has been unable to get through. As the energy minister told the House during question time, 18 vessels have arrived this month. We are seeing spikes in demand, not any disruptions to supply.

What can political leaders do? Well, it's incumbent on all of us not to be fanning the flames but to be very clear with Australians that this is not the time for panic buying. We've seen that from some of those on the other side of the House, to their credit—the former leader of the Nationals, the member for Maranoa—but we have not seen it from every coalition state member or federal member around the country.

Labor have worked strongly to ensure that Australia's fuel reserves are healthy. Australia's fuel reserves are now healthier than they have been at any time in the last 15 years. Under the coalition, Australian fuel reserves were kept in the Northern Hemisphere—kind of a strange definition of 'Australian fuel security', you might think! It might have been very handy for the United States to have a bit more Australian fuel sitting in Texas and Louisiana, but it's an odd place to keep your fuel safety net—on the other side of the Pacific. Under the coalition we saw six of Australia's eight refineries close. If refinery closures were an Olympic sport, they would have swept the podium!

Labor have worked to boost the minimum stock obligation. We have on hand some three billion litres of diesel and some 1½ billion litres of petrol. The energy minister has issued an instruction that the minimum stock obligation should now be updated weekly, not quarterly, and that's in addition to the further reporting obligations that he put in place when we came into office in 2022.

We're also taking pressure off those fuel reserves by increasing the share of Australia's vehicle fleet that are electrified. When we came to office, some two per cent of cars sold were electric. That's now up to 14 per cent. That means there are fewer motorists placing demand on those fuel supplies. We've also seen changes within the electricity grid. Gas usage in the electricity grid in summer 2025 was about half what it had been in summer 2022. Global gas prices often follow global oil prices. This means the Australian electricity sector is less subject to those pressures.

The previous speaker, the member for Wannon, spoke about cost of living in general. I'm very happy to take on the member for Wannon on cost of living any day of the week. He is, after all, part of a party that went to the last election promising to raise income taxes for every Australian. Australian taxpayers are due to receive two further rounds of personal income tax cuts, which will add to the first round of tax cuts that commenced in July 2024. We're putting in place a new thousand-dollar instant tax deduction from 2026-27, which will reduce paperwork and provide tax breaks. We've cut student debts. We've provided cheaper medicines. We're making it easier to see a bulk-billing doctor. We've backed increases to minimum and award wages—something the coalition never did. We're helping Australians get a better deal on their energy bills. We're helping Australians get a better deal at the checkout.

Labor has a broad agenda for supermarket competition. Whether through ensuring that farmers get a fairer deal through our new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct—which every member of the coalition in the House voted against—or whether through Choice's quarterly grocery price monitoring or whether through our first-in-16-years ACCC review of supermarket competition, Labor has provided an additional $30 million to the competition watchdog in order to crack down on misbehaviour by supermarkets.

On top of that, we will soon be bringing to parliament measures to ban unfair trading practices, subscription traps and drip pricing. As Matthew Cranston from the Australian reported at the beginning of the week, Australians lose some $46 million a year to subscription traps. Labor is putting an end to that—a cost-of-living measure and a fairness measure, because good businesses offering fair exits from subscriptions shouldn't be competing with dodgy players who are making it hard to get out of subscriptions.

Only Labor prioritises consumers. Only Labor is passionate about competition reform. Only Labor will deliver on putting downward pressure on prices, putting upward pressure on wages and improving the living standards of all Australians.

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If Hollywood made a sequel to How to Lose a Guy in 10 DaysI love that movie—it wouldn't be a romantic comedy; it would be a disaster movie called 'How to Lose a Small Business in 10 Days', written and directed by and starring the Albanese Labor government. The hero up against it all would be Australian small businesses—hardworking tradies, transport operators, family businesses. They get up before dawn and keep our communities going. And the villain in this story? I'll give you a hint. He had the top billing in question time today. But, as with any good blockbuster, we need a story, so let's walk through the plot.

Day one: make fuel so expensive that running a small business becomes a gamble. In Western Sydney, fuel isn't optional; it is the engine of the economy. Tradies rely on it. Transport companies rely on it. Small businesses rely on it. Families rely on it. When fuel prices spike, everything else follows. The groceries on supermarket shelves cost more to transport. Building materials for homes become more expensive. The price of a plumber turning up at your door goes up. In my electorate of Lindsay I spoke with Aaron, a local plumber who runs three trucks across our region. Like many small trades, his business used to offer free call-outs and investigations, because he wants to help his customers. But he simply can't afford to do that anymore. Fuel costs have forced him to take one of those trucks off the road. When the price at the bowser rises, the service van disappears. When the service van disappears, the customer pays more. And that's just day one.

Fast-forward to day three: let fuel supply uncertainty creep into the system, because the problem isn't just price; it is supply. Despite claims that there is plenty of fuel in the country, we are hearing reports of wholesalers rationing petrol and diesel. Transport operators are being told they cannot access their normal bulk fuel supplies. Some have been forced to buy fuel at retail prices instead. Regional petrol stations, relied upon by transporters and farmers, have reportedly run dry in recent days.

In Western Sydney, I've heard from a local transport company operating around 20 trucks, 12 hours per day, on major infrastructure projects right across Sydney. Their fuel supplier has introduced rationing. If they need 10,000 litres of diesel, they may be able to access only two. Imagine trying to run a fleet of trucks when you don't know whether you'll have the fuel needed to keep them on the road. How can you run major infrastructure projects when there is so much uncertainty? No fuel means no deliveries, and no deliveries means no business, and no business means no jobs.

Day five: add an hour to every job, because traffic is crawling and fuel stations are running dry. Time is money, and, for small businesses, every extra kilometre driven and every extra minute spent on the road adds to the cost of doing business.

In my electorate of Lindsay, Gina runs Nepean Regional Security with a fleet of 14 patrol vehicles. Around 70 per cent of her services depend on those vehicles being on the road, responding to alarms, patrolling public amenities and recreational spaces, and protecting businesses across the community. When fuel prices spike and supply becomes uncertain, the pressure compounds. Drivers spend longer on the road, navigating congestion, detouring between service stations and trying to secure fuel to keep their patrols running. What should be a quick response to an alarm call-out becomes a longer, more expensive trip. When you multiply that across 14 vehicles, operating night after night, the costs and the delays add up quickly. For businesses like Gina's, that lost time means higher operating costs, tighter margins and harder choices about how many vehicles can remain on the road. When fuel becomes expensive and difficult to secure, every extra hour on the road becomes another hit to the bottom line.

Day seven: crush margins, until small businesses have nowhere left to turn. When fuel costs surge businesses try to absorb the shock, but they can only absorb so much. Suppliers start passing on higher delivery costs. One local supplier doubled its delivery fee overnight from $15 to $30. Materials become more expensive.

And, by day 10, the ending writes itself. You've lost another small business—not because they lacked grit, not because they lacked customers and not because they lacked determination, but because they were trying to operate in an environment where prices are so volatile, supply is uncertain and government leadership is missing.

That is why fuel security matters. And it stops with the Albanese government. Western Sydney businesses do not need another disaster movie. They need a government that understands that fuel is not just about transport; it's about tradies getting to work, it's about trucks delivering materials and it's about families. It keeps our economy moving. And, right now, too many businesses in Lindsay feel like the government has left them completely stranded at the bowser.

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

It is a demand issue, unfortunately. The world has changed a little bit in the last six or seven weeks. But I want the constituents of Leichhardt, and the people of Australia, to be reassured. The ships are still arriving. The oil is still here. There are three billion litres of diesel, 1.5 billion litres of petrol and 800 million litres of jet fuel—not needed yet, because the supplies are still coming. Demand has spiked, and it is creating supply-chain issues. We know this; we are working on this.

It is unacceptable to profit off Australians using the excuse of an international crisis—unacceptable. The Treasurer has made that very clear. The people of Australia are making that very clear. This side of the House makes it very clear. I've written, on behalf of my constituents, to the ACCC, to make sure that the Far North is included in any investigations into price-gouging. It is making it harder for our primary producers—particularly in an electorate like mine, which is enormous. But I am confident that we will get through this and we will get through this together.

The cost of living was brought up multiple times—which is ironic, given those opposite have opposed just about every single cost-of-living measure that has been placed before this House, leaving Australian families worse off. They go to an election promising higher taxes and higher deficits, yet then come in here with the gall to say that not enough is being done. We work with Australia. We work with the suppliers. We work with the fuel companies. We get solutions. What we don't have is $600-billion nuclear dreams. Practicality is the answer here: working with the people on the ground, figuring out where the supply lines are choked and working our way through and around that.

When I came to this House, I was excited for my election, excited for what I might be able to achieve for my community, excited to be able to join a place of like-minded people whose ultimate goal is seeing Australia be the absolute best version of itself. I tried to reflect on that yesterday in the Federation Chamber through the words of a young girl, who wrote a speech for me as part of her work experience, pointing to the sacrifice and the dedication, what it takes and what it means to be a representative in this place, a representative of your community, a representative of Australia.

Using fear for political gain is beneath us. We are better than that. Australia is better than that. Our farmers deserve better than that. People in the street deserve better than that. It is absolutely disgraceful. It's beyond countenance. Why spread fear to create a problem that you cannot solve? You're part of it. Now, instead of creating fear, instead of spreading misinformation right across the country and letting things run like wildfire on social media, the option is clear: tell people we have the supplies because it's the truth, not because it helps the political narrative but because it's the truth. Tell them that the fuel is in Australia, because it's the truth. Everything's bigger in Texas, but it doesn't help you from there. It's a long way away. The fuel is here now. Eighteen ships have arrived in the last month and 35 are on their way. The amount of fuel that was here in January is here now. This is not a supply issue. The sooner we get that message out, the demand will begin to reduce and prices will begin to reduce as well.

We are in a world where the order is changing. We know that there are now pressures because of the conflict in the Middle East that are beyond our control. What we can control is the narrative. What we can control is the truth. And when we decide not to do that, we let down our constituents, we let down the honour of this chamber and we let down Australia. Every single person in this country deserves better than that. Fear is not a weapon to be used for politics.

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

In the deep south of my electorate, in the southern forests around Manjimup and Pemberton, our potato farmers are working flat out at the moment. The Della-Vedovas, the Bendottis, the Omodeis, the De Campos and many, many other families are busy harvesting potatoes, which are on a very finely tuned supply chain. They start harvesting in January and they generally go through until about June. Those potatoes end up on the shelves in our major supermarkets within days of them coming out of the ground.

Now, yesterday I asked a question of the minister on behalf of one of those farmers, Dom Della-Vedova, who had been told that he had 10 days fuel supply and that it would be three weeks before he would get any more. I asked the minister if he could guarantee that Dom will get the fuel that he needs. The minister obfuscated for three minutes. He gave some very vague assurances that there was enough fuel in Australia, but he couldn't give the guarantee that those potato farmers in the south of my electorate in WA will get the fuel that they need.

Now, we heard today that the Kwinana storage tanks have had a block put on them and that distributors are not allowing fuel to leave those tanks. The minister says in the Dad's Army style of Corporal Jones, 'Don't panic, don't panic.' But these farmers aren't panicking. They're just being prudent and they are being told that the fuel that they need to get those potatoes out of the ground and get them onto the supermarket shelves is not going to be available. That's not panicking; that's responding to something that you've been told by your supplier.

Going more broadly than my potato farmers, Western Australia just produced 27.2 million tonnes of grain in the last harvest. Those farmers have just come off a record season and are busy preparing for the next season. There's a lot going on out on the broadacre wheat belt farms that requires a lot of diesel: they're spreading lime; doing summer spraying; there's stubble rolling going on; and, by the end of the month, they will start dry sowing. If they're not able to start sowing at the correct time, it will have a catastrophic impact on the yield come the end of the year.

When they ring up their fuel suppliers and say they need 25,000 or 50,000 litres, which is a big dump—that's the two tankers you see on the road, in one hit—and they are told that the fuel is not available, they're not panicking but are concerned about that, and they want answers from the minister. The minister says we've got plenty of fuel on hand here and there are ships on the water; it's all good. But anybody looking a bit beyond that, like a farmer who might need fuel at end of March into April and through May for their seeding program would be thinking that the conflict in the Middle East has been going for about eight or nine days now, which is about the shipping time either from the Middle East or a little bit less out of Singapore, where a lot of our fuel is refined, but a lot of that crude does come out of the Middle East. Twenty per cent of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and we haven't yet seen the impact of the fact that that strait has now been closed for nine days.

So, if I'm a wheat belt farmer and I'm thinking I'm going to need a considerable amount of diesel in the next two to three months and we haven't really seen the impact of the conflict on fuel supply yet, then I'd be very concerned. I wouldn't necessarily be panicking, but I would be very concerned. I'd be very concerned that the minister can't give us any assurances and doesn't seem to have taken this issue seriously until the last couple of days. Now he's holding meetings with the various regulatory bodies and so on. It is of enormous concern to the people of my electorate.

Going beyond our farmers, we're seeing roadhouses across the electorate running out of fuel. We've seen prices spike. I've seen up to $2.27 for unleaded 91 across my electorate. Flicking through the responses to my Facebook post from yesterday's question, I saw someone had posted a historical post from the Prime Minister in 2021 where he'd posted a fuel station sign showing petrol at $1.79. He said, 'I bet Scott Morrison hasn't been out looking at petrol prices recently.' Well, isn't karma beautiful? At the moment we are seeing petrol prices under this Prime Minister rocket through $2.20, and we'll see them hit $2.50 if they don't get the Strait of Hormuz cleared shortly.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The uncertainty that faces the world today, particularly with the conflict between the USA, Iran and Israel, inevitably has an effect on us here, back at home. The best way to deal with this is to have a solid, practical government that concerns itself with good evidence based policy: a government that deals with short-term problems and at the same time works towards long-term solutions to the overarching challenges that are confronting us, then works to permanently reduce energy costs.

The member for Wannon's party is from time to time in coalition with the National Party—and members of that party have just today elected a climate denier to lead them. Senator Canavan is, of all members of this parliament, one of the least acquainted with evidence based policy. It's all very well for the member for Wannon to want to talk about fuel prices. When this government capped gas prices, the member for Wannon and Senator Canavan voted against it. When this government takes measures to reduce energy bills, to encourage the take up of renewables and EVs, or for tax cuts that help Australian workers with the cost of living, the member for Wannon and Senator Canavan vote against it. Voters deserve a Liberal Party and a National Party that offer real alternatives and not just a policy-free zone, ongoing infighting and heads in the sand.

Nevertheless, global events remind us how interconnected the world's energy markets have become. I'm sure all members would wish, as I do, that the conflict in the Middle East might come to an end soon. It is, however, outside our control, and while it continues it carries risk both to global inflation and growth. We are not immune to that, but we are well positioned to weather it. We are fuel secure. We are above our minimum petrol stockholding obligations, and fuel does continue to arrive. Now, the price of fuel, of course, is fluctuating. The volatility sees the price of fuel barrels fluctuating on a daily basis anywhere from $80 to $120. So I call on constituents in my electorate of Hasluck to keep an eye on our WA FuelWatch. This helps us identify which fuel stations are offering petrol and diesel at what prices. And in my electorate—in Ellenbrook, Midland and Noranda—there is a 40 cent price difference across the fuel station offerings, so please do check in there.

In the meantime, we've written to the ACCC to ensure that fuel retailers are not using the conflict in the Middle East to price gouge and profiteer, to see this as a commercial opportunity for profit. They're on notice. The government has already increased the penalties available to the ACCC by five times, up to $50 million, and there are on-the-spot fines.

What we see now is not just the management of short-term pressures on global energy markets, which is obviously critical; our government is also focused on doing something equally important, which is driving down energy costs permanently for Australian households and businesses. One of the most powerful ways that we can do this is by accessing the technology that's already available on the market. It is for Australians to be generating and storing cheaper power at home. Households in Hasluck across the suburbs of Midland, Bassendean and Ellenbrook. We're already embracing this with rooftop solar at remarkable rates. Western Australians are, in fact, leading the nation in the rate of household solar uptake.

And then we have our Cheaper Home Batteries Program, where the government is investing around $2.3 billion to reduce the upfront costs of household batteries by around 30 per cent, or roughly $4,000 off a purchase price for battery set-up. This combination of solar and then the battery storage can save as much as $2,300 on an electricity bill, and it dramatically reduces reliance on the grid, I'm happy to report, in fact, that our household bill has gone to zero thanks to the installation of the battery system. Thanks to the government grants, we now have now 250,000 installations, and, at last count in WA, Tangney leads the pack, with over 2,300 installations; Bullwinkel is second, with just under 2,300; and Hasluck is not far behind, with 2,100. While people like the member for Canning spend a fair bit of time awkwardly perched on the bonnet of a car and hysterically trying to suggest that net zero is killing industry, the good people of Canning know otherwise and, in fact, have installed over 2,000 batteries under the scheme. Home batteries allows families to store their own power, reduce reliance on the grid at peak times and cut their bills. (Time expired)

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today's matter of public importance debate is about the government's failure on fuel prices and fuel distribution, moved by the member for Wannon, the Manager of Opposition Business. He comes from a regional electorate and he would, as I have and as many other regional members should, talk to his farmers, talk to his growers, who at the moment are at the start of sowing season. And it's not just farmers; it's also those wonderful truckies and trucking transport operators, many of them family owned, who are really desperately worried at the moment. They're not getting the answers they seek from the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and they are desperately seeking solutions.

Now, one of those solutions would be to ensure that we have distribution and supply. It's all well and good for the minister to come to the dispatch box and talk and talk and talk, but it's another thing when the reality on the ground is that, out in regional Australia, they cannot get the supplies and the distribution that they so desperately need. One of those is Paul Lawton. He's got 12 trucks. He's running out of Gunning and he has operations in Young, Goulburn and Wagga Wagga as well. He is buying 236,000 litres every fortnight. That's a lot of fuel. The last time he fuelled up, it was $1.60 a litre for diesel. Next time he fears it will be $2.60 per litre, and he is very concerned. He employs 15 locals. His wife, Kristen, and his mother, Marilyn, are part of this family owned business. But he is desperately worried about supply, and he is just one person—the face, if you like, of the concern in regional Australia.

At 5.13 pm on Sunday, I went to fill up to come to Canberra. There was the sleeve on the diesel bowser—'temporarily out of order'—at the petrol station I usually fuel up at on Lake Albert Road in Wagga Wagga. I didn't fill up, because obviously there was no diesel available. So I got home and phoned up, and they said, 'We're right; it's all good.' As I returned there the red Ron Finemore Transport tanker had just finished fuelling up. That's all well and good. That supply would have run out, and I would urge and encourage people not to panic buy. I would urge and encourage people to use the NRMA Fuel Finder app to find the cheapest fuel.

But there is a concern out there about distribution. There is a concern about supply, and the government has to explain better what it is doing to allay those concerns in regional Australia, particularly for the growers who are about to embark on sowing season. If they can't get the fuel from their distributors, they can't grow the food. And if they can't grow the food, the price is going to go up and up and up. That will produce all sorts of issues. Even if trucks could get to the supermarkets at the moment, they're not going to have any food to distribute to supermarkets, and it will be a problem in and of itself that will manifest in higher prices at the checkout. Of course, people are already facing higher prices at the bowser, and the issue is supply. The issue is distribution. If these trucking companies cannot get the fuel, then the nation stops, because trucking companies run this nation. Without them, the nation grinds to a halt.

The minister is not giving convincing enough answers as to what he's doing. The ACCC needs to be involved. Our distribution companies need to be involved. It's all well and good for the minister to say his door is always open, but we've heard from the member for Wannon that it is not. Please, Minister, be truthful. Come clean about what the government is doing about this critical issue, because if our trucking companies can't get the supply—if they can't get the distribution—then this nation will be in awful strife. Our farmers, who are at the moment embarking on sowing season, will be in all sorts of trouble. We don't need higher prices; we just need answers. We need them from the minister. He's the one in charge. Where is he on this?

Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is extraordinary that the Leader of Opposition Business, a senior member of the opposition who has been in this place for more than 15 years and has served as a cabinet minister, would choose to use his time in this chamber to fearmonger and to attempt to scare the Australian people. At a time of global uncertainty, Australians deserve facts and leadership. What they do not need is an opposition once again choosing to amplify anxiety during a crisis for their own political gain. I do acknowledge the member for Riverina on his message not to panic buy. It was good to see that. I'm glad to hear that. But those opposite know, and many of them saw it firsthand when they were in government during a pandemic, that when global events create uncertainty, the role of members in this place is to reassure Australians and provide clarity. It is not to serve their own political interests at the expense of the national interest. This type of behaviour is not only dangerous; it is unhelpful and it is dishonest.

Australians have every right to be concerned when major international events threaten global supply chains. The escalation of conflict in the Middle East is serious, and it has implications for energy markets around the world. Australia is not alone in this challenge. But let's be absolutely clear about the facts when it comes to Australia's fuel supply. Our nation is fuel secure. In fact, we are above our minimum petrol stock obligations. As the minister confirmed in question time today, this stock has not yet been accessed, because the supply to Australia continues strongly.

We are in a stable position because this Labor government acted. From the moment we came to office, we took practical steps to strengthen Australia's fuel security and ensure our systems were resilient in the face of global shocks. In case those opposite have lost sight of it in their political games, there is a war happening in the Middle East. It is an international crisis. People are being displaced, our allies are being attacked, and Australian lives are at risk. This is not a commercial opportunity for retailers, and it's certainly not a political opportunity for those opposite.

While the opposition is busy stoking and spreading fear, the Treasurer and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy have asked the ACCC to ensure that fuel retailers do not use the events in the Middle East as an excuse to price-gouge Australian motorists. They have also flagged that any necessary ACCC exemptions are granted, and the doubling of penalties for false and misleading conduct. Because of the proactive actions of this government, fuel retailers have been put on notice. The ACCC has made it clear it will not hesitate to act if businesses break the law. Importantly, we have given the ACCC the powers it needs to do the job properly. We have increased the maximum penalty for serious breaches fivefold to $50 million. We've extended the ACCC's petrol price monitoring powers for another five years and ensured it can issue on-the-spot fines if it suspects false or misleading statements.

These measures are about protecting Australian consumers, but industry also has an important role to play. We've asked fuel companies to work closely with farmers and small businesses to ensure that they can access the fuel that they need to keep their businesses functioning.

We know Australia is not immune to these global shocks. The conflict in the Middle East compounds uncertainty for global growth and inflation. But our economy is built on a foundation of resilience, not rhetoric. It remains strong and it is well placed to get through this latest global upheaval.

Of course, we understand that Australians are feeling the pinch. That is why our focus remains steadfast, on meaningful relief, whilst those opposite talk down the economy and focus on their own importance. We have delivered tax cuts for every taxpayer, pay rises for low-income workers, cheaper medicines and a stronger Medicare with more bulk-billing so Australians can see their GP for free.

The escalation in the Middle East is a sobering reminder of why a responsible, measured approach is important. While those opposite seek to politicise a global crisis for their own political gain, this government will continue doing the work Australians actually expect of us: securing fuel supply, working with industry, protecting consumers, strengthening our economy and delivering real cost-of-living relief, because Australians deserve a government that steadies the ship, not an opposition that is desperately trying to sink it.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to give a voice to the businesses, the families, the fishers and the farmers in my electorate who are bearing the brunt of this fuel and fertiliser crisis, because Labor is not listening. Surging fuel prices and rationing are aggressively exacerbating Labor's cost-of-living crisis and putting our primary producers at extreme risk. The government claims that there is plenty of supply in the country, but, on the ground, the reality is starkly different. Wholesalers have begun rationing petrol and diesel. Transport companies are being cut off from bulk supplies and forced to purchase retail fuel. Suppliers are being told to prioritise retail stations over farms and fishers. Many regional pumps, relied upon by our communities, have already run dry.

John Horgan, a constituent from Wudinna, has informed my office that Mogas in Wudinna have stated that they are not delivering to farmers. Robin Hughes of R&L Hughes Transport tells me:

I can't get fuel delivered on site.

Normally, he fills up his trucks every two days. Now, he's filling up at the end of every day in case he is forced to wear the cost of another price increase. A fill-up that normally costs 800 bucks cost 1,200 bucks only yesterday. As Robin warned me, 'We may not see the repercussions yet, but maintenance on trucks will be the first to go.' He was blunt:

This government is not working for the people. People do not trust the government, and that is why they're panic buying. I understand why farmers are panic buying. Their livelihoods depend on it.

I do not blame Robin for his statement. I do not blame some Aussie punters for buying more fuel than they need, because no-one trusts this minister and this government. Let's remind ourselves that Minister Bowen and the now Prime Minister said on 97 occasions that your power bill will reduce by $275. Minister Bowen said, 'This is the most comprehensive modelling ever.' Well, what happened? Prices did not go down. In fact, they went up—now over 40 per cent. No wonder no-one trusts you to manage this crisis.

This vulnerability extends to fertiliser. We rely on the Middle East for almost half of our urea imports, with usage peaking in April prior to seeding—as we are about to get ready for on our farm. NeuRizer was incredibly close to domestic production in Leigh Creek before stifling red and green tape made approvals impossible. Without reliable urea supply, we are facing a disastrous food security crisis—not just a farming crisis.

But it is not just businesses. My office has received messages today from struggling and desperate South Australians. Lisa Lemon from Two Wells has reached out and shared her story, and I think it hits home: 'In two weeks, the price at Angle Vale OTR has gone from $1.75 on 26 February to today's price of $2.40, a difference of 64c a litre. I'm a solo mum with a toddler and a fuel tank of 80 litres. I'm also on a very tight budget until I return to work. I must go to suburbia from Two Wells a few times a week, at a minimum, for education, medical, shopping or other things we can't get. At 64c a litre more, it now costs our little family $50 more a tank. I'll be returning to work soon, and I fear the costs I'll face then—if it's even financially viable for me to do so. Governments push to get mums back to work, but this may be just another barrier in our path.'

The Leader of the Opposition wrote to the Prime Minister to form a bipartisan taskforce to reduce government spending and fix the cost-of-living crisis so people like Lisa and Robin can get on with living their lives the Australian way. But there has been no response. Labor's economic failures mean the consequences of this Middle East conflict will be far worse for everyday Australians. Minister Bowen and the Treasurer keep telling us they've met with this group and with that group. 'Let's form a roundtable.' What? But listening only gets you so far. As a minister of the Crown, action is more important. My farmers and fishers are rightly nervous. Get the damn fuel moving around this country. We are here to work for the Australian people. Do it.

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

The member for Grey has said that action is more important. The question that I have for him is: what action did he take when that mother called him? What action did he take when his constituent said to him, 'I'm worried about the cost of living. I'm worried about the money that I'm paying when I'm at the bowser'. Did the member for Grey tell her that he was here fuelling the fire? Did the member for Grey tell her that he and his party are here taking political opportunity from a crisis, and that she is the ultimate victim of that irresponsibility? It is downright dangerous, and the member for Grey should reach out and let her know that when he gets home.

We know that people are doing it tough. They're doing it really tough. And, when you drive up to the servo, when you saddle up and pick up the pump, when you watch the numbers tick over as you're filling up, of course you are watching your hip pocket. We know that cost of living is the most important thing to Australians right now, and it's not limited to the bowser.

Australians are feeling it when it comes to their hip pocket and when it comes to housing and paying their rent. They're feeling it when they pay their bills; they're feeling it at the checkout. That's the landscape that our nation is in right now. When you couple that with a devastating conflict in the Middle East, we have to think how we approach this situation for the betterment of all Australians.

The opposition didn't ask themselves, 'How do we help Australians at a difficult time?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we drive fear?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we eke every single political opportunity out of this?' The opposition asked themselves, 'How do we exploit an international crisis for our own personal advantage?' I believe that when you sit on that green leather, you form a compact. It's a compact with the Australian people, and it's a compact of responsibility. It's a compact of a promise that you have to ensure that you are acting in the national interest. Today, with this MPI, that compact is in tatters. It's in tatters and it is in absolute stark contrast to the approach and the action that this Albanese Labor government has taken on such an important issue.

I want to take you through just three things when it comes to that approach. Firstly, we've secured an Australian based fuel reserve, a fuel reserve close to home, unlike what we saw from the now leader of the opposition, who thought that that fuel reserve should be in Texas. Now, if you're a Queenslander, you might think to yourself, 'Well, that's not too far away; Texas, Queensland is pretty close.' But it wasn't Texas, Queensland; it was Texas in the United States. On this side of the chamber, we believe that fuel reserves should be held here in this country. We believe, if you're a Queenslander, that there should be a bit of it in Brisbane too.

Secondly, we've bolstered the ACCC to stop gouging. We've increased the maximum penalties, we've extended their powers and we've allowed for on-the-spot fines to make sure that, unlike the opposition, others are not also taking advantage of a crisis in the Middle East.

Thirdly, we're working with experts, we're working with the Farmers Federation, we're working with truckies, we're working with stakeholders across the deck. What do they say? They say that when demand is up by 40 per cent because of pressure, we need responsible communication. We need to talk to the Australian people responsibly and we need to make sure that they understand that not only has that stockpile not been touched but fuel is arriving on time. There is one thing that is clear about this opposition: in relation to fuel, they are the villain.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This discussion has now concluded.