Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australians have always prided themselves on being a resourceful people. We can survive droughts, floods, fire and also Mr Kevin Rudd as the Prime Minister and then as a US ambassador—my goodness! But apparently what we cannot survive is a government that thinks planning ahead is a form of colonial oppression. Under the Prime Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, we've been treated to a masterclass in strategic napping. While other nations have quietly stockpiled fuel like sensible adults preparing for winter, Australia has taken a more relaxed approach that is something between blind optimism and outright denial, in my opinion.

If a tap is turned off, we could be just weeks away from serious fuel disruption. And what's the plan? Minister Bowen told the ABC recently that it might not hurt for people to stay home and work from home. What? Stay at home, like during the COVID era's stay-at-home orders—come on, Mr Bowen! Our energy minister is a man so romantically committed to windmills and solar panels that it appears he might actually think that fuel is an optional extra. In his world, the future is powered entirely by good intentions and a stiff breeze, which is wonderful, right up until the moment you recall that trucks, planes and most of the economy still runs on oil.

The truth is fuel security is not complicated. You store enough of it so your country doesn't grind to a halt the moment things blow up in the Middle East or in the South China Sea. It's not radical. It's not controversial. It's basic competence. But, when it comes to this Labor government, competence seems like it's in shorter supply than diesel. We all know what the solution is, and it's a very simple one: drill, baby, drill.