Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We could all stand in here and shout at each other, but I'm not sure what that really achieves, given we've been at it for four days. There is a situation in the world, a global challenge, that is impacting Australia. Unlike the assertions of the Greens, particularly of Senator McKim, Australia did not start the war in Iran. Australia is not part of the core challenges in the Middle East. Those challenges have been around for a very long time. But what we do know is that those things impact Australia. It is very easy to go, 'You should stop the war.' Newsflash, people—that's not something the government of this country, regardless of who is in government, has the power to do; I'm sorry to upset your hysterical narrative, but it's just not.

When we come to the issue at hand here of what's happening on the ground in Australia, what I can tell you is that I know people on the ground are hurting right now. They're driving past petrol stations, looking at the price and thinking: 'How on earth do I afford a tank of petrol ongoing? How long is this going to last?' They're looking at the situation in some of those regional areas where people pull up and there isn't any petrol. That is not widespread, but it is happening. What this government has done is look at all the levers it can pull to make a difference, to get as much of the fuel supplies that are needed to the places that need them. Do we know that people are running out of petrol in some areas? Yes, we do. Is the work ongoing to try and make sure everybody has what they need? Yes, it is.

This little red bubble in here shouting and carrying on like pork chops isn't necessarily helping, because you're terrifying the living daylights out of people—that they're never going to get another drop of petrol.