Slade Brockman (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

This is a matter of urgency, no matter what those opposite want to try and portray. The coalition are responding to the many hundreds or thousands of calls to our individual electorate offices and to us directly from people right across Australia, highlighting their concerns. Let's accept for the moment what the government says—that there is sufficient fuel within the Australian system. I'm willing to accept that. But there is also, clearly—and the government should acknowledge this—a severe maldistribution problem.

This is not simply a few people in cities going to Bunnings, buying jerry cans and filling them up. That does not account for the fact that Wandering, Corrigin, Katanning and so many more country towns across Western Australia, let alone the hundreds of centres in the eastern states and South Australia, are low on if not out of fuel. It does not account for the fact that major distributors are telling me directly and via their customers that they have zero allocations from the port terminals. Again, I'm happy to accept the government's claim that there is sufficient fuel in Australia, but the government must address this maldistribution issue.

While they're at it, they must also answer for their lack of action. This is not something that happened in the last 48 hours. Here's an article from Bloomberg from six days ago. I will quote from this article. 'While China is not the region's largest exporter'—talking about South-East Asia—'its sudden withdrawal from the international market is expected to tighten global supplies further.' So this article is talking about how China has ordered its top refineries to halt diesel and gasoline exports to the world. This article goes on to say, 'The directive follows similar moves'—so prior to six days ago—'from refiners in Japan and Thailand, who have also been curbing exports to safeguard their own domestic stocks.'

Let's add to that picture. Malaysia's PRefChem has shut down a crude refinery unit. We've got the Singapore refinery cutting its runs at its Jurong site. This is a major export refinery that supplies directly to Australia, currently producing, apparently, around 60 per cent of capacity. We have another Jurong refinery in Singapore again operating below capacity. So we have plenty of evidence that has been on the public record not just for 48 hours, not since the beginning of the week, not since question time started this week, but since last week, showing that the world's supply chains for refined petroleum are under severe pressure.

Then you combine that with the maldistribution issue that is clearly impacting Australia. Again, we are hearing from those country towns right across Australia that have little or no petrol availability in their country towns. We're hearing from farmers who have a few days worth of diesel left on farm and are being told they're just going to have to wait for the next supply. Who knows when it will come. People are rightly very concerned, and to say that this is somehow the opposition's fault just beggars belief. Does this government seriously think that it can get away with pointing the finger across the chamber and blaming us, when they are in control of the Treasury benches and when they are the ones who hold the levers of power—levers of power, by the way, that a coalition government put in place and that Labor is now claiming credit for? This is an urgent issue. It's a serious issue, and the government and the minister need to show like they understand that. (Time expired)