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

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to ensure heavy vehicle operators are supported through fuel disruptions? And how does it compare to other approaches?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I thank very much the member for Bendigo for her question. She knows just how important the announcements we made yesterday are for regional communities like hers. I've been meeting regularly with the transport and fuel industries together to make sure that we are working off the same information, and I'll meet again with them tomorrow. They told me that heavy vehicle operators were struggling to cover the costs of rising fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East.

Following National Cabinet yesterday, of course, the Prime Minister announced that our government would reduce the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months. We're also deferring the next scheduled increase of the heavy vehicle road user charge by six months, and we're also halving the fuel excise for petrol and diesel for three months to save 23.6c per litre at the pump. States and territories have agreed to look at their registration charges for heavy vehicles in conjunction with what we've done and also to continue to discuss the GST and do all they can to ensure that there is some of that increase returned.

The legislation to do the fuel decrease was introduced just this morning. It will give transport owners and operators much needed relief, easing fuel costs while they continue to carry food, medicine and other essentials right the way across this country. It has been welcomed by the Australian Trucking Association, the Tourism and Transport Forum, the Business Council of Australia, Gas Energy Australia, the Australian Retail Council, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Road Transport Association as well as many others. The ATA has said:

In total, the decision will save trucking operators 32.4 cents per litre. It is the lifeline that small trucking businesses need.

As we come into Easter, TTF has said:

Anything that helps bring down transport costs across the supply chain is a win for the entire tourism sector …

This work is, of course, complemented by the changes to the Fair Work Act which passed the parliament yesterday so that truck drivers can quickly renegotiate their rates with Australia's major retailers. We are working day and night to sure up our fuel supply, to help people with the cost of living and to keep Australia moving. We're not going to take advice from those opposite on how to support truck drivers because what you did when in government was drop the fuel excise and forgot about the road user charge that meant that truck drivers couldn't get the same relief when we were facing those cash flow challenges. This time, I remind them that their costings, frankly, were $1 billion short. Did you think it was going to be for free? Clearly you did—$1 billion short.