Jessica Collins (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to talk on the Fair Work Amendment (Fairer Fuel) Bill 2026. This bill, brought on very quickly in this national fuel crisis, is the ultimate mea culpa that is, unfortunately, common from the Labor government. This crisis is now five weeks old, and this is the first we've heard this government acknowledge that there is a problem, despite like-minded countries across the world being weeks ahead of us in planning and preparation.

When we started ringing the alarm bells on this crisis, the Albanese Labor government said there was no problem at all, and the Labor Party was talking down all Australians' concern about their inability to get fuel in the regions. Next, everyday Australians were called Far Right extremists by senior Labor ministers for daring to suggest that this Labor government should do something about this crisis, or that the Prime Minister and his part-time energy minister should even acknowledge the challenges faced by those who feed this nation and transport our goods.

Then Labor had to finally admit there was a problem but, remarkably, they said supply was somehow even better than before, and it was Australians at fault for panic buying, that there was too much demand, that little old ladies were being scared into buying too much fuel. They said Australians were wrong to look at the price of fuel rising past $3 for diesel and to act accordingly and that anyone with a jerry can was hyperventilating and was un-Australian.

The talking down of Australians did not end there. The Senate will recall that the Labor government, as late as Friday, was saying that supply was guaranteed and, again, that Australians going to the servo were un-Australian, that the farmers who were trying to plant were imagining this fuel crisis and that industry was wrong to see the dwindling tankers and scale back their production because of Labor's inability, once again, to handle a crisis. How dare they call citizens un-Australian—citizens who were working on limited information from this government. Labor has left them in the dark, rudderless, unable to make important decisions about their livelihoods.

In the regions, they've made their decisions already. A quarter of farmers have decided to reduce planting or not plant at all, but, according, to our PM, there's a demand issue. Then, on Saturday morning, the Prime Minister fronted the cameras with another rushed bill, a bill that wouldn't be needed if he had done his job to begin with. Our PM said, 'This bill helps Australia to be overprepared.' He used that word many times—overprepared. That was an absolute course correction for someone trying to cover up the fact that this government is completely underprepared. They are weeks if not years behind where they need to be. The Australian people deserve better than what the Labor government is selling.

Because of the left's obsession with carbon emissions—which, here in Australia, make up just one per cent of global contributions, by the way—everyday Australians are paying more at the browser and more on their electricity bills. Because of this Labor government and its obsession with green ideology, Australians are paying higher mortgages, spending more time at rammed hospitals and paying more at Coles and Woolworths as they provide for their families. The truth is that this government has blown the budget, regulated industry to extinction and sacrificed our sovereign security by locking away cheap and reliable power behind absurd and economically damaging climate mandates. Importing endless solar panels cannot fuel a road train. They cannot power our smelters, and they cannot make our fertiliser.

I pay respect to Senator Sterle's impassioned plea to remember the truck drivers—the small business that drives this nation. We hear you. That is why we called on the government to halve the fuel excise tax, and the government listened. But, still, the Prime Minister's latest homemade crisis is driving Australians into poverty and this bill, his bill, does nothing to immediately relieve the cost-of-living catastrophe he has orchestrated. This is an industrial relations powers bill that, remarkably, only addresses one current application that's sitting with the Fair Work Commission—just one. There's just one in there. This is his immediate response to the fuel crisis.

There's also no sunset clause to take these IR powers away from the minister once this crisis is behind us. This is not a temporary measure. There is no sunset clause. These IR powers are here to stay. This is the government's response. The PM has no real plan. He has no urgency, and he has provided no leadership. He needs to move the fuel to the servos. This bill has been introduced haphazardly and without the usual process and—typical Labor—avoids scrutiny. It comes as no surprise that this Labor government is trying to avoid scrutiny. We have independent analysis that has shown time and again that this is the most secretive government ever. They went to the election claiming integrity and transparency. This is completely and utterly a gross failing of the Australian people.

This bill was introduced to parliament on Thursday morning. Then the government, as it always does, chose to play politics and not debate its own bill. It's really important that those at home understand this. The government is rushing these laws to clean up its own mess and did not allow any opposition or crossbench MPs over in the other place to read the bill before voting on it. This is not a considered approach. This is not a democratic norm. This is not a respectful approach to the parliament and the citizens who own it, and it does not help everyday Australians deal with the fuel crisis. It does not rectify the very real decline in trust in our vibrant democracy. This bill gives extraordinary power to the minister to bypass Fair Work Commission's mandatory review period of road transport contractual chain orders. This is a very serious and significant change, one that requires proper scrutiny. That scrutiny has been denied.

There is no obvious reason why the parliament should be asked to truncate scrutiny on a permanent amendment to the Fair Work Act when ordinary mechanisms remain available and passage is still available this week. This bill is being rushed through parliament, and that should concern all of us. When laws are rushed through quickly, we lose transparency. We do not get clear answers about how the power would work in practice, when it would be used or what safeguards would be put in place. Parliament should never be asked to legislate first and ask questions later. Our job is to scrutinise laws properly, before they are passed not after the fact.

The government says this bill is needed because of an urgent fuel crisis, but if that is true then there is still time to follow the normal parliamentary process. There is time for proper debate, proper scrutiny and proper accountability. There would be measures beyond deals with unions and beyond permanent IR changes. Will this bill increase stockpiles? Will it move supply to where it's needed most? Will it provide relief? The answer to all of that is no. It's just an industrial power handed to the minister permanently. As they say, Labor does not let crises go to waste. The PM has no real plan but is making policy on the run and is using this crisis to strengthen IR powers.

PM Albanese has no real leadership in all of this. He needs to move the fuel to the servos. Again, I thank him for listening to our calls to slash the fuel tax. Halving the fuel excise will provide immediate cost-of-living relief to Australians suffering because of the policy decisions of this Albanese government. Axing the fuel tax will give the mums and dads of Australia some relief. It will give the truckers and the farmers of Australia real relief. The increased GST that Dr Chalmers is making off of this crisis would more than pay for this subsidy if combined with reducing tax benefits to EV buyers earning over $150,000.

Regular Australians need help, not just those in the top tax bracket looking to buy a luxury car in a cost-of-living crisis. Labor has become the party of giving to the wealthy and taking from the poor, and regular Australians are paying the price. We heard this morning from Senator Gallagher, who said, 'The Albanese government is taking steps to shore up supply.' I wonder if Senator Ayres now thinks she's a far-right extremist. I think that's a matter for them to sort out. But this is all we've heard for the past two weeks. When we call out the problems of not being able to get fuel, we are called far-right extremists. Tell that to all the good people of Australia who are scared and anxious right now.

The coalition is calling on the government to act now and to bring down fuel costs. I want to be very clear that we proposed the 50 per cent cut to the petrol tax on petrol and diesel for three months first. Under our policy, this would be matched by a 50 per cent reduction in the heavy-vehicle road user charge. That would mean the fuel tax would fall from 55.2c per litre to just over 26c per litre. This is real and immediate relief for families, businesses and transport operators who are struggling with rising costs. We have made it clear that we are willing to work with the government to find sensible offsets. This can be done in a way that protects the budget over the long term, that helps keep inflation down and that does not involve new taxes to cover the gap. This is a temporary and targeted measure. It is designed to ease cost-of-living pressures for Australians, who are paying the price for a fuel crisis that Labor has failed to act on.

Australians have already endured almost four years of Labor driven inflation, and now they are facing even higher prices because of a fuel crisis the government denied existed and failed to prepare for. People need help now. This Liberal and National proposal delivers that help quickly, responsibly and fairly. Instead, this Labor PM has no plan and no urgency and has provided no leadership. Minister Bowen is spending upwards of $200,000, flying on holidays throughout the Pacific on UN business, while charging Australian taxpayers for the privilege. It is no wonder that we are in this current crisis. Inaction and ineptitude will be the legacy of this Labor government.