Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

We understand Australians are concerned about access to fuel. We are not immune to the effect of oil prices on the global economy. As Minister Ayres said, petrol companies are telling us that fuel stock continues to arrive as expected and on time, but there has been a large change in the pattern of demand, and that is having an effect on the supply, particularly in regional communities. We've seen jerry cans coming off the shelves at Bunnings and lines at the pump.

The government has been clear that retailers should not use this period as an opportunity for price gouging. The National Farmers' Federation, Fertilizer Australia, the petroleum industry and the peak group of service stations told Minister Bowen yesterday that we needed to encourage Australians not to panic buy. Yet what we see from the coalition, from Senators Cash and Canavan this morning and again from Senator Colbeck, is really nothing short of irresponsible—winding up people and stoking fear. I demonstrates—