House debates Questions without Notice

Fuel Security

Thursday, 12 March 2026 House of Representatives

Angus Taylor

Angus Taylor Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition

2:22 pm

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy has just informed the House that Australia is in 'a national crisis on fuel supply'. Prime Minister, is the minister correct?

Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister

'The big message for every Australian is don't panic. The supplies are there. We all have a role to play in that. Stick to our normal daily operations and schedules, and don't think that we always have to keep topping up. The fuel is coming.' Those are not my words; they are the words of the member for Maranoa this week—how can that not be relevant?

Milton Dick

Milton Dick Speaker

Order! This question requires a yes/no response, which I understand the opposition is seeking. I cannot direct the Prime Minister to answer the question in that way, but I will give the call to the Manager of Opposition Business and will ask him to succinctly say his point of order.

Dan Tehan

Dan Tehan Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction

It goes to standing order 104(a) on direct relevance. Australians want to know—

Milton Dick

Milton Dick Speaker

Resume your seat. Once again, 30 seconds in, the Prime Minister is being directly relevant. He was reading a quote from another current member of parliament about the exact topic he was asked into the Hansard. He couldn't be more directly relevant. If he has more quotes, I'll make sure they are being directly relevant, as all prime ministers and ministers have done—certainly for the last 10 years that I've been here.

Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister

Well, the bloke next to him, said this: 'I'd stress to people to not necessarily do that—panic buy.'

Milton Dick

Milton Dick Speaker

I ask the Prime Minister to refer to all members by their correct role.

Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister

'We obviously have reserve supplies.' That is what the member for Page had to say. They're still, at this stage, sitting on the front bench. Who knows where they'll be when we come back?

Honourable members interjecting

The bubble! Those opposite suggest that I'm talking about them; they just talk about themselves. In a week in which they've knocked off another leader, they suggest that we're talking about internals.

The minister has said this on the minimum stockholding obligation: petrol, 36 days; jet fuel, 29 days; diesel, 32 days. And what others have said, what others have deemed as the minimum level depending on the field type, is this. Twenty-four days for petrol; we've got 36. Twenty-four days for jet fuel; we've got 29. And 28 days for diesel; we've got 32. That's what this bloke said when he was the energy minister.

According to the Leader of the Opposition, we not only are delivering—

Opposition members interjecting

Yesterday they asked a question. They came to the dispatch box and asked, 'When will the war end?' Today, they come to the dispatch box and ask, 'Is there a crisis?' There is a war in the Middle East. It is having an impact. And if those opposite want to wish it away and pretend that it's not happening, then what they show is that they are simply unfit not only to be a government, not only to be an alternative government—no wonder they're barely in opposition and being led by the bloke up in the corner!

Honourable members interjecting

Milton Dick

Milton Dick Speaker

When the House comes to order—

Honourable members interjecting

Order. When the House comes to order, I would like to recognise some visitors that have joined us in the gallery.