Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

When we ask questions around why the government isn't acting as it should and whether it has identified evidence of hoarding or bottlenecks or supply being withheld, there's prevarication. The reality is that there is evidence of that. People are coming to us and telling us about that. There are people who need fuel for their businesses, for their farms and for their vehicles, and they're not able to get it. Pointing the finger at somebody else isn't the appropriate way to manage the situation at hand.

Minister Ayres talked about how purchasing behaviour has changed—people are buying more, and it's shaped by what's occurred in the last few weeks. It's incumbent upon the government, the Prime Minister and the Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, to actually stand up and say: 'It's okay. We have this under control. We have sufficient supplies of petrol, of diesel and of aviation fuel for Australia's needs. We have sufficient supply of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel to ensure that our supply chain remains intact.' But we haven't had those answers, and that's why people are worried. That's why people are concerned.

Not everybody lives in a city. Not everybody goes to an office job and can jump on public transport or is fortunate enough to walk to work or to school. There are some people who have to use their vehicles in order to be able to effectively run their businesses or get to work, and they want to be certain that there is a stable supply of fuel in our country. When Senator Canavan asked questions around Pelican Airlines and Ripple Creek Transport and Senator Nampijinpa Price asked questions about a petrol station in the New England region, instead of being answered genuinely, those questions were answered with disdain. It was questioned if the petrol station actually exists. It does exist. Australians are telling us about their experiences.

The purpose of this chamber, and particularly of question time, is for us to ask those questions of government. It's not disdainful for us to ask that. It's not misinformation if we ask a question based on information that we've received. It is incumbent upon the government to answer those questions. That's the purpose of this very chamber. To be insulted because you asked a question about something that might be uncomfortable most properly reflects the problems that the government has in managing the economy and in managing the serious issues that we have at hand at the moment.

One of the other things that really interested me was that, in an answer to Senator Canavan, Minister Ayres talked about the minimum stockholding obligations—which, indeed, the coalition put in place—and 'other measures', but he didn't tell what us a single one of those measures is. I put it to the minister that there are no other measures, that nothing else has been done, and that Australians are right to be worried about the fuel supply, to want to have questions answered in relation to the fuel supply and to be worried about what will happen if fuel prices go up even further, given that Australians have suffered nothing but a cost-of-living crisis under this government. Obviously, there are other crises include the housing crisis as well. Australians are paying a great deal for the errors of this government.

Question agreed to.