Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. As the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global fuel supplies, how is the Albanese Labor government taking action to shield Australians from the worst of the crisis and bolster our national fuel security and supply?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. From the outset of 28 February, we said that the longer the war goes on the more serious the economic impact will be. We've continued to call for a de-escalation. We want to see peace in the region. We want to see the Strait of Hormuz opened up to normal traffic. We can see, though, that it is having an impact here at home, even though this is a war in which Australia is not a protagonist.

But we are shielding Australians from the worst, and so far we have made a positive difference. The fuel excise cut is easing pressure, and the release of some fuel reserves has helped distribution, especially in the regions. We're constantly engaging with our trading partners in the region. I travelled to Malaysia, to Brunei and to Singapore. Minister Wong has travelled to Japan, Korea and China. I've hosted the Prime Minister of Japan and spoken with Premier Li of China. This is all making a difference—something that was actually criticised by those opposite. Through Export Finance Australia, extra cargoes of shiploads of fuel and fertiliser and hundreds of millions of litres of diesel are coming to Australia. That shows why our reputation internationally as a stable, reliable partner is really important for us.

Tonight's budget will focus on making Australia's economy even more resilient as we go forward. Central to that will be our $10 billion Australian fuel security and resilience package; a government owned fuel reserve of one billion litres—the first since World War II—lifting our national fuel reserves to 50 days; establishing a fuel and fertiliser security facility, increasing supply and storage; and getting Australia through this crisis, but doing it in a way so that we're stronger on the other side of it. That is our aim.

We do live in very turbulent times. There is a great deal of uncertainty about when this conflict will end and about what the impact will be. All we can do is put in place every measure at our disposal to protect Australia's national interest. That's what I've been doing. That's what the minister for energy has been doing. That's what the Minister for Trade, who has responsibility for EFA, has been doing as well. And it is making a positive difference. The fact that there is more fuel in Australia today than there was on 28 February says that we have got these measures right, but, of course, we're not through what is a global crisis going forward.