Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It seems that Australian fuel supply is so fragile that regional independent wholesalers and our farmers are being told they can't have any. It's all been saved for the cities. Let me tell you about Sam Clifton from Transwest Fuels, an independent wholesale fuel supplier for regional New South Wales. Sam has been turned away from his normal bulk fuel suppliers in both New South Wales and Queensland. How will he provide fuel for his more than 2,000 customers?

Let me tell you about Inland Petroleum, who have told their customers that they know their prices are terrible, but they've also had to cut their margins to keep them down. 'We are doing everything we can to keep fuel moving to farmers, to transport operators and regional communities,' they say, but they also need to look after their 280 employees.

Let me tell you about Tim, a Binnaway farmer, who has been told by his supplier that there is no fuel for him to mix feed for his livestock during the drought, and farmers like Kathryn from Coolah, who told me that they should now be planting—in her case, canola. They should be harvesting, transporting and feeding stock to put food on the table for all Australians. No diesel equals no food. When that supply starts to run out, watch those prices rise.

The Albanese Labor government has watched the cost of living skyrocket. But when they allow fuel supplies to dwindle, the whole machinery of government— (Time expired)