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

Thank you, Senator Cash, for that question. I make the point that we have been making for some time: this is a conflict and a shock to global energy markets which is having an effect on our economy that is being experienced both in terms of supply but also price. I have laid out here the plan that the Prime Minister announced on Monday as well as the measures, in the last weeks, the government has taken to shore-up supply.

As part of that, the Prime Minister has determined to address the nation tonight because this is an unprecedented shock to global energy markets that is impacting on the economy. If I may say, what that question again demonstrates is that this opposition is simply not up to the task. We are facing a conflict in the Middle East. We are facing effects on global supply—the largest shock in energy markets since the 1970s—