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

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. How is the Albanese Labor government acting to keep fuel supplies flowing? And how will the government's extension of fuel relief help keep fuel prices down so that we can keep communities connected and our freight moving?

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

I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. She well knows the impacts that the Middle East conflict has had on regional communities and the price of fuel in those communities. I also very much thank Australians, who have been really magnificent through this. They have done an incredible job in working with government to make sure that we can keep fuel and our freight operators moving around the country.

We have been working very closely with industry and our international partners to ensure fuel continues to flow and that we keep our communities connected. On Saturday, the Prime Minister announced that Export Finance Australia had secured, with the private sector, a further 50 million litres of diesel and that this shipment is now headed for Port Botany. Since February, we have secured additional supplies of nearly 800 million litres of diesel, 155 million litres of jet fuel and 340,000 tonnes of fertiliser. There is now more fuel in the country than there was in February this year, before the conflict began.

By securing our fuel supply, we are providing certainty. But we do know that supply is just part of the story here. The war in the Middle East has caused the biggest spike in fuel prices. That's why we've worked quickly to cut fuel excise to save Australians money at the petrol pump. And because freight is the backbone of this economy, we have also moved to cut the road user charge for heavy vehicles. We've seen fuel prices come down from their peaks in April but we do recognise that people are still doing it tough.

And while we have weathered this crisis well, we know that it will take a while for global fuel movements to recover. It's why the Prime Minister announced yesterday that we are extending fuel excise cuts into July, saving Australians 16c per litre—around $11 per tank. But what we're also doing is continuing the reduction of the fuel excise in the road user charge through to July. That is critical for our freight industry and critical for our trucking industry to be able to continue to move goods and services around this country.

Of course, this support has been welcomed by the Australian Trucking Association—and I recognise their strong advocacy on behalf of their members—the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Automobile Association and the businesses that have kept our goods moving all the way around our country. This is additional support for Australians as global fuel movements remain constrained and it builds on the work that we have been doing to support the transport industry since the beginning of this crisis—work like amending contract chain orders through the Fair Work Commission, zero-interest loans for eligible SMEs through the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and more support through the ATO for businesses who are facing fuel related financial pressures.

When things are uncertain around the world, we're focused on helping Australians at home. It might be good to get a question from those opposite about this important issue.