Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of answers to coalition questions regarding Australia's fuel supply. The Albanese Labor government does understand that Australians are rightly concerned about not only the fuel supply but also the rising fuel prices. The conflict in Iran is having a real impact on Australian households and the cost of living, and there's no beating around the bush about it—it's tough out there. Our government is looking at every practical measure to shield Australian families and businesses from the worst effects of global instability. We're focused on ensuring farmers in regional communities and essential services continue to have access to the fuel that they rely on and that they need. Across government, we have been working through and planning for the impacts of the crisis and protecting Australians from the worst of this global challenge. As a senator for Tassie, I can say that I'm so grateful for the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and our senior ministers, including Minister Wong, Minister Ayres and Minister Bowen, who are steering us through these tough times. On this side of the chamber and under this government, we have ministers that are engaging with stakeholders and with the community, making considered decisions, unlike those opposite, who, when they were in government, would make policy on the run.

Earlier this month, I was at the Wynyard Show. It was an incredible day, the sun was shining, and we had stunning weather, beautiful food and a great community. I had a really good time talking to constituents and assisting them with their inquiries. I did hear from the community that the people really are concerned about fuel prices at the moment. It's really clear not only that people are upset and worried about the fuel prices but also that they understand that there are global factors going on, being the war in Iran. It's important that people know that we also understand the price of fuel, what people are paying at the pump. In North West Tassie, it's around $2.50 a litre at the moment, and that's up from about $1.64—in Devonport—just less than four weeks ago. Tasmanians can check the FuelCheck TAS app for the best fuel price around, and they can shop around to get the best deal.

Minister Ayres, today in the chamber during question time, being the warrior for transparency that he is, updated the chamber on the Tasmanian service station situation, and he let the chamber know that there is one service station currently without diesel and six currently without unleaded. We know that these are too many fuel stations that don't have fuel, but it's important that people know the facts and that this information is shared, and it's important that levels of government work together to ensure that the fuel gets to the people.

Australians do want action, and that's why the Albanese government have acted quickly. We've tasked the ACCC with ramping up fuel price monitoring, including weekly reporting on unusual price spikes, investigating anticompetitive conduct and introducing the ability to issue on-the-spot fines. We've been boosting the fuel supply by releasing 20 per cent of the baseload minimum stockholding obligation for petrol and diesel. Last week, the Prime Minister, when he was in Tassie, convened National Cabinet, and he announced that the government would be appointing Ms Anthea Harris as the Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator to support coordination across government and sectors. Ms Harris's role will include: leading the taskforce that will be established in the Department of the PM? driving coordination between the Commonwealth and states and territories on fuel security and supply chain resilience; providing consistent coordinated updates to the Commonwealth and states and territories on the supply stock outlook as well as domestic fuel distribution; and supporting state and territory governments to get fuel to the regions which they need to.

I wanted to also quickly touch on truckies and support for truckies. The Albanese government is helping Australia's trucking industry manage the impacts of the war in the Middle East and ensuring that truckies and operators are better protected with fuel price rises. Our government is, again, stepping up to help create fairness through the supply chain and manage the impacts of fuel challenges. We will amend the Fair Work Act to allow truckies and road transport businesses to make an emergency application to the Fair Work Commission for a contract chain order to deal with the current spike in fuel prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Labor supports truckies. We want them to be safe on the road and to not be left behind or taken advantage of. That's why the minimum order of six months will be changed to as soon as possible—so truckies and operators aren't left wondering. (Time expired).