Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on the motion that grievances be noted, and I want to raise a grievance about fuel security and, more specifically, about the way in which those opposite have chosen to conduct themselves in this moment. Australians can see what's going on globally—instability in the Middle East, pressures on supply chains and increased demand. We, the Australian people, all feel it every time you pull into a servo. It's not abstract. It's not theoretical. It is a real supply challenge. And, in that environment, this government has acted. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, hasn't been sitting back and issuing commentary. He's been intervening directly to keep fuel moving. That includes forcing suppliers to get fuel into regional and independent servos that were running dry—not asking nicely, just making it happen. When supply tightens, you don't just hope the market sorts itself out. We're getting ahead of the problem because we want to step in and make sure Australians aren't left stranded. Alongside that, we've released fuel from stockholdings to boost supply, adjusted standards to bring more fuel into the system and coordinated nationally across governments and industries. That is what managing a supply shock looks like.

The grievance is what we're seeing from those opposite. Instead of contributing constructively, unlike the member for New England, they've defaulted to a familiar routine. They're like that kid from school that didn't do the work in the group assignment, was nowhere to be found when it actually mattered and then somehow rocked up at the end, hand out, ready to take all the credit. The problem is that this is not the first time we've seen this. When they were in government, when they actually had responsibility, what did they do? They oversaw the closure of four out of the six refineries in this country, and we were told it wouldn't matter. Now we know exactly how much that matters. Once that capability is gone, you're more exposed, you are more dependent on imports and you are far more vulnerable when global conditions turn against you. They've also talked about minimum stockholdings but never delivered them. And, in what may be one of the most remarkable decisions in energy policy in this country's history, they spent close to $100 million storing fuel not here in Australia but in the United States, 14,000 kilometres away. That is not a back-up plan. That's a postcard. This is where the minister has been very clear. In a crisis, you don't just observe the market, you make sure it works.

I didn't come into this place as someone who worked behind a desk. I was a sparky. I worked all across Western Australia. I've worked in the Pilbara. I've worked in Kalgoorlie. I've worked all across the state. I can tell you that the systems don't care who takes credit. They either work or don't. They either have reliable inputs or fail. Fuel is one of those inputs. And, when that input is disrupted, the consequences don't stay contained. They spread through freight, through construction, through supply chains and ultimately into the cost of living. That's why this matters. That's why fuel has been directed into regional areas. It's why supply has been increased. It's why coordination has been stepped up—because the alternative is what we saw under those opposite, a system left exposed, hoping global security would remain stable. And, as we are seeing now, that is not something you can rely on.

This isn't just about fuel. This is a pattern. The Liberal Party has spent years claiming to be the better economic managers, but that reputation rested on the work done by Labor—the hard reforms, the structural changes and the difficult decisions taken under leaders like Paul Keating. Labor does the heavy lifting. These guys just inherit the benefits and then claim the title, and now we're seeing the same thing play out again.

This matters in places like Moore because fuel isn't optional. It affects people commuting across Perth's northern suburbs, small businesses trying to keep costs down and supply chains bringing goods into our community. While Moore is metropolitan, it is connected to regional WA, to freight, to agriculture and to the broader community. When fuel supply tightens, the impact doesn't stay in one place. It flows through everything.

The grievance is simple: those opposite had the opportunity to strengthen fuel security, and they didn't. Now they seek to criticise the work required—

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting

Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to manage that reality, and true to form—

An opposition member interjecting

You cannot fix a fuel—

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please address your comments through the chair.

Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You cannot build an oil refinery in four years.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Please address your comments through the chair.

Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Apologies. They now seek to criticise the work required to manage that reality, and, true to form, they've turned up at the end of the assignment to take credit for the work they didn't do. Meanwhile, this government is getting on with the job, keeping fuel moving, keeping the system functioning and making sure Australians are protected as much as possible from the global show. What we're seeing from those opposite right now is an absolute performance. We have a serious attempt to deal with a complex problem, and they come with all the energy and indignation of schoolkids insisting that someone has copied their homework. That might be convincing if they'd actually done any of the homework in the first place.

Australians understand what is going on here. While those opposite have been busy making claims, this government has been focused on three things: understanding the situation in real time, coordinating across the system and acting early to keep supply moving.

That starts with information. You cannot manage fuel security if you don't know what's happening across the network, what's in storage, what's moving through terminals and where disruptions are emerging. That is why this government has strengthened the information coming in: weekly reporting, new powers to require data and direct visibility over supply and distribution. If you're flying blind in a situation like this, you're already behind.

The second piece is coordination. Fuel doesn't move in neat, isolated boxes. It moves across jurisdictions, across industries and across supply chains that are tightly linked, so our response reflects that. That is why we've brought together industry, transport operators and the agricultural sector. That's why we've activated the national coordination mechanisms. In a disruption, what matters is making sure fuel gets to where it is needed most.

The third piece is acting early, not waiting for the crisis to fully land. We're not scrambling once shortages appear but stepping up early to expand supply and ease pressure. That's what these measures, like releasing stockholdings and adjusting standards, are all about. It's not theory. They're not announcements. These are, again, practical steps to keep the system moving. If your fallback is on another continent, you're not strengthening the system; you're distancing it from where it's actually needed.

When we hear those opposite now claim urgency, it's reasonable to ask: Where was that urgency when those decisions were being made? Where was the focus on resilience, on capability and on preparedness? You don't get to ignore those questions and then claim ownership of the solution now. You certainly don't get to accuse others of copying your work when what you left behind was not a plan but a gap. Right now, the difference is clear. On this side, there is a focus on information and on acting early to protect Australians. On the other side, there is a lot of noise, a very loud insistence that the work being done now was their idea all along. And Australians can see through that. They know the difference between preparing for a challenge and reacting to it after the fact. When it comes to fuel security, that difference matters, because this debate isn't about credit; it's about whether the country is ready when it counts. That is exactly what this government is focused on delivering.