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

Senator McGrath identifies one of the many problems that the government has been seeking to address, and that is the downstream effects, the knock-on effects, of a lack of supply in fuel to many parts of the economy but, of particular importance, to Australian agriculture, and that is correct. That is why the government has been working on additional supply not only in the work that Minister Bowen has done over a number of weeks but in the announcement that the Prime Minister and the minister made over the weekend, which will enable the underwriting of private-sector purchases of fuel. That is all about securing additional fuel for our economy. It is an additional supply measure, precisely because we recognise that we need fuel throughout our economy. We also recognise particularly, as Senator McGrath says, the impact of any lack of supply or inconsistency of supply on particular industries, including agriculture. The National Fuel Security Plan goes through how state and territory governments will work with us.