Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australians are being told by the Albanese Labor government that fuel supplies are solid, and Minister Bowen is going on television and telling people fuel stocks are strong. Australians are entitled, then, to ask a very simple question: if that is true, then where is the fuel—why can people not get the fuel they need for their families, their farms and their businesses? That is the question millions of Aussies are asking, because the reality on the ground is not matched by Labor's talking points.

People from all over New South Wales are contacting my office and telling me the local servo's run dry. Farmers are telling me they cannot get enough diesel to keep their machinery moving and get their crops in the ground. I'm being told truckies are being smashed with soaring costs, which are passed through the whole economy, and independent service stations are being left exposed, trying to survive while supplies tighten and prices surge. That is the difference between the talking points we're getting from the Labor government and real life—the reality on the ground. The government is saying that the national fuel position is secure and Minister Bowen is saying supplies remain secure, but regional service stations and distributors are clearly facing serious strain in getting fuel to where it is actually needed.

Reports this week have pointed to regional demand surges, patchy supply and diesel prices surging well above $2.50 per litre in some areas. That is a crisis. That is a real issue. Australians do not live on a page of Labor talking points. They live in towns, on farms, in regional communities and in outer suburbs. They need fuel to work, to harvest, to transport goods and to keep small businesses alive. If the fuel is supposedly here but it's not reaching the bowser, not reaching the paddocks and not reaching the truck yards, then the government has a serious leadership problem on its hands, and this doesn't just stop with fuel. Higher fuel costs feed into everything. With the price of diesel and petrol rising, freight costs rise. When freight costs rise, food prices rise. When transport costs rise, small-business costs rise and Australians end up paying more at the checkout, and then we're dealing with inflation. This is how weak leadership on energy and fuel security turns into higher inflation across the economy.

Labor's fuel price shocks are adding more pressure to household budgets. This is not just about inconvenience, and this is not misinformation; this is about the real economic pressure that is hammering Australian households and Australian businesses. It's about food prices, it's about the cost of living and it's about whether the Albanese Labor government had actually planned for this. I don't think they had. I think they failed to manage foreseeable risk, and I believe they are misleading Australians about the system failures that have led to this cost-of-living crisis, again, under the Albanese Labor government.

What we are seeing is a failure of leadership—a failure of Labor ministers to take responsibility for their failure in preparation—and, instead of action and honest answers, we are getting talking points and lies. Instead of a serious national focus on fuel security, we are getting excuses. Australians are more vulnerable than we should be because we've allowed ourselves to become too dependent on imported fuel and too exposed to overseas affairs. Because of these net zero policies of the Albanese Labor government, we can no longer refine the fuel we need in our own country. We are no longer self-sufficient when it comes to fuel, and that is a matter of leadership. That is a failure of policy.

The Albanese government, Minister Bowen and those on the other side, need to stop relying on talking points. They need to stop accusing—frankly, it is quite disappointing to hear them say that the people calling my office, the farmers and families calling my office, are spreading misinformation, because, when Australians are calling me and saying, 'We cannot get the fuel we need,' I believe them. I don't believe it's misinformation. I believe those Australians who are contacting my office are telling the truth, because empty bowsers, rising costs, forgotten farmers and bankrupt businesses—that's not misinformation. They are trying to warn you. They are begging for your help, and you are failing to listen. Until you start to listen, Australians will keep paying more and getting less. (Time expired)