Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the fuel challenges that many of us in regional Australia are facing. I start by acknowledging and congratulating the people of my electorate in Bendigo. We have not experienced what other regions have faced, with fuel shortages or bowsers running out, and it is a real credit to the people of Bendigo electorate, who did what was asked. They only bought and took what they needed. We've not seen the stockpiling or those challenges that other areas have had.

When the crisis first occurred—I do say 'crisis', and it's also one that is not of our making—when Trump started the war in Iran and we saw the challenges and what's been rolling out since then, we saw a spike in demand, but we haven't seen that flow on to our bowsers running out of petrol. It is because of the work of people locally, listening, respecting and understanding that they should just buy what they need. That will help our farmers as we come into the sowing season. We're having favourable rain, and that will also help.

But what we've also seen in our region, like in all parts of Australia, is that spike in prices. That is a challenge. I acknowledge it is a challenge for households and for businesses. We have APCO petrol stations in my electorate, and they're always busy. They were before this war started, and they continue to be so today. They always retail fuel for about 20c cheaper than the other suppliers that we have on High Street. If you're filling up a 50-litre tank, that 20c will save you about $10. That does help, particularly for people who are struggling to make ends meet. But the unprecedented spike in prices is a worry and if it continues it will have a big impact, not just on households and businesses but on the economy.

That's why I really welcome what this parliament is doing today. Our government is introducing the legislation that will help get consumers a fair go at the petrol pump. We're putting petrol companies on notice and saying that we will not cop Big Australia treating Australian consumers like mugs. We are hoping that the Liberals and the Nationals vote with us on this bill to introduce tougher penalties for petrol companies that are doing the wrong thing by Australians. This is a real team Australia moment, where we need industry to work with government and with consumers to ensure that we have fairer prices at the petrol pumps.

I want to say to those who have asked me locally about why our government has decided not to cut the fuel excise that, regardless of what you pay at the pump, fuel excise is fixed. That is a revenue that we collect on behalf of states that we put into roads maintenance and road infrastructure. It's one of the oldest taxes that we have in Australia. It has existed since Federation. It's how we are fixing roads in Epsom, like Howard Street. It is how we are fixing the roads in Pall Mall and the roads around Bendigo. It is how we are fixing our smaller regional roads. It's how we are funding Roads to Recovery, the Black Spot Program and the Safer Roads Program. So I would be concerned if we were looking at the fuel excise as a quick fix to this challenge because it is how we collect revenue to ensure our roads are safe and to help our councils do the work that they need to do to keep our roads maintained.

I'm very proud to be a supporter of local women's sport in my electorate. Recently, we had the conclusion of another successful season of the Lisa Chesters Shield, which is the women's senior competition for the Bendigo District Cricket Association. I've been the proud sponsor of the shield since 2021. This year, the Golden Square Cricket Club were again the division 1 winners—an extraordinary, strong team. It's a demonstration that women like to play cricket in Bendigo at the club level. I'm very proud that I continue to sponsor this.

As the cricket season ends, our women's football season begins. I'm very proud to stand here today to update the House and let it know that the Kyneton women's football team, the Wedge-Tailed Eagles, will get to play in our local competition. We're looking forward to the season starting over Easter. The central Victorian women's league has expanded and will thrive.