Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Grogan, for that question. Of course, the Albanese government is intervening to make sure that fuel gets to where it is needed and that we cushion Australians from the worst of the price shock. This is an international crisis, not a commercial opportunity or a partisan opportunity at Australians' expense. That's why we, as a government, made the necessary decision to release 762 million additional litres of petrol and diesel from our national stockholding, with the additional fuel squarely directed to farmers and regional communities. That's why we've temporarily lowered fuel standards, allowing an extra 100 million litres a month to be used here rather than exported.

While I'm on the subject of that fuel, I was interested to see Mr Taylor on Saturday say:

Australia is exporting fuel because of regulation brought forward by him—

I assume he means Mr Bowen—

because of his emissions obsession …

The thing about running a hyperpartisan campaign is it's probably good if you get the facts right. It's probably good if you get the facts right. Viva does not export fuel. Ampol's only exports are now redirected to Australia after this government made the sulphur change. This government made the change. Mr Taylor misrepresented the facts on Saturday, when it was plainly obvious through the government's actions that we had made the difficult but necessary decision to do that. If you're going to run a scare campaign, you might as well try and run an honest scare campaign rather than a dishonest scare campaign, which is what has been perpetrated by this lot and their fellow travellers.