Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Ghosh, and you're right: a comprehensive and staged plan is important. It's the responsible thing to do. Our collective approach to fuel security through the National Fuel Security Plan is guided by four levels of response. The first—plan and prepare—is what the government has been doing. We are now at level 2—keeping Australia moving—and this involves the government taking precautionary action to shore up fuel supply, like our plan to underwrite the purchase of fuel by the private sector, to give private suppliers confidence to secure additional cargoes and to help boost supply into Australia. Levels 3 and 4—taking targeted action and protecting critical services—would occur due to ongoing supply disruptions and see a more targeted focus on getting fuel to where it is most needed. Australians can be confident that the government has a plan to deal with whatever comes at us at all levels.