Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Sterle, the Chair of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, I present the report on Australia's transport energy resilience together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

John Madigan (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be able to speak to the final report on Australia's transport fuel security. On 3 September last year, Senators Muir, Lambie, Xenophon, Bullock, Canavan, Heffernan and I moved that this inquiry be established. From the outset, I thank them for their support to establish the inquiry. I thank Senator Sterle, who conducted this inquiry in an exemplary fashion. I also thank the secretariat and all those who provided submissions to this important inquiry—in particular those who appeared at the two public hearings.

This inquiry went to the heart of Australia's security—our fuel security. It has been said that it is the lifeblood of our society. What this inquiry found is that we have approximately two weeks to a month worth of fuel in storage. That is it—two weeks to a month. We do not even know that for sure, because we do not have a mandatory reporting regime in place. So what does that mean? Well, if something were to go terribly wrong—for example, in the South China Sea—and shipping out of Singapore were to be interrupted for a prolonged period, Australia would have between two weeks and a month worth of reserves. That is not to say that the fuel will be where it is needed, but we would have about a month's worth of LPG for our forklifts and around two weeks worth of diesel for everything else of significance. That is why this inquiry was so important. It did some groundbreaking research on the facts behind Australia's transport fuel supply chain. It exposed the realities that have been swept under the rug by current and previous governments.

This inquiry laid to rest the idea of, 'There's nothing to see here'. The report being tabled today outlines that any significant disruption to Australia's transport fuel supplies would have a significant impact on safety, national security, productivity and society as a whole. The committee recommended three significant points. The first was that the government undertake a comprehensive whole-of-government risk assessment of Australia's fuel availability and vulnerability. In doing so, we must look at potential disruptions resulting from military actions, terrorism, natural disasters, industrial accidents, financial issues and other structural dislocations. The second was mandatory reporting of fuel stocks to the Department of Industry and Science to allow the department to not feel the need to reverse-engineer their figures. The third was that the government develop and publish a comprehensive transport energy plan, directed at achieving a secure, affordable and sustainable transport energy supply chain.

The government must act immediately on these recommendations. It must not simply talk about action and then do nothing like it has on so many issues. The threat is immediate. Our national security is at stake. The Prime Minister says that he is committed to keeping Australians safe. If that is true, then he will move swiftly to ensure our nation's fuel security, because not to do so would put the entire country at risk. The opposition too must come to the table and make a bipartisan commitment to implement the committee's recommendations. From the outset of this inquiry, both major parties have worked very effectively together to produce this vital report. It is my sincere hope that this cooperation will continue and that all parties will put Australia's interests ahead of their own.

Once a crisis begins, we will have no way of rectifying the situation; we must begin preparing now. The recommendations of the committee are not a silver bullet by any means, but they are an important first step to ensuring our nation's fuel security and energy independence.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the motion that the Senate take note of the report Australia's transport energy resilience and sustainability. We feel that the report was a very good summary of the varied issues at play with regard to securing Australia's transport energy supplies. The Greens are committed to ensuring reliable transport energy supplies that efficiently and effectively serve the needs of our community and industry, but which also, in addition to that, eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and our greenhouse gas emissions. We in particular noted the submissions to the inquiry that highlighted the energy resilience opportunities and the emissions reduction potential of reducing fossil fuel dependence in our transport sector. So, while we support the recommendations contained in the report, we feel that stronger emphasis was needed in order to take account of the issues associated with reducing our fossil fuel dependence.

We support the recommendation to develop and publish a comprehensive energy transport plan but feel that this plan should also set targets for a secure zero-carbon supply of Australia's transport energy and outline a transition to achieve this supply over the coming two decades so that we will achieve not only fuel security but also zero carbon emissions from our transport. We want to encourage and support the development of zero-carbon and potential zero-carbon transport energy sources and transport systems, which would include comprehensive public transport systems across all capital and regional cities; investment in infrastructure to support and facilitate greater use of walking and cycling, and so to reduce the use of fossil-fuel-dependent vehicles; and the rollout of electric vehicles and the production of biodiesel produced from genuine waste products.

We also feel that the other really important factor that needs to be considered with fuel security is energy efficiency, so our further recommendation was that the Senate should pass the Motor Vehicle Standards (Cheaper Transport) Bill 2014, which would reduce fuel demand across the economy by requiring the importation of new motor vehicles to comply with global standards. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.