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

As I indicated earlier this week and last week, this is a very significant event in the Middle East. It means that we have a very significant impact on our economy, in direct and indirect ways, and, the longer this conflict goes on, the harder those effects are going to be for the economy to deal with. The minimum stockholding obligation that we imposed and implemented in the Australian economy means that there is that shock absorber. Releasing 20 per cent means that more fuel has been available, and that has had a useful impact. We are not complacent about that; we are continuing to work with the ACCC, and we appointed the Fuel Supply Taskforce, led by Anthea Harris. The government is very focused on these supply questions, particularly in regional Australia— (Time expired)