Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to congratulate the Albanese Labor government for taking another leaf out of One Nation's book and cutting the fuel excise. Of course it's taken a national fuel crisis to do it, and as usual Labor's cuts don't go far enough. It's an overdue response to a crisis that a couple of weeks ago Labor said did not exist. Just like Labor had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a royal commission in response to Bondi, Labor has been forced to act and implement One Nation's agenda, although our call was for a 100 per cent cut to the excise, not 50 per cent. Anthony Albanese's second term as Prime Minister is being defined as 'lurching from one crisis to the next'. They were crises of their own making. Antisemitism and fuel insecurity are problems for which Labor is to blame.

More problems are looming, not least the supply of fertiliser for our agricultural sector. Australian agriculture has always been dependent on high fertiliser inputs because of the nutrient deficient soils. It shows we need to revive our fertiliser manufacturing in Australia, so we never leave our farmers short of the essential input. We need to make sure this critical resource gets to our farmers in the most cost-efficient manner by utilising our rail freight networks in operation now. While successive governments have been obsessing over net zero and high immigration, they've forgotten the fundamentals. We can't eat wind turbines or solar panels. We need to eat food. We need farmers to produce food. We must use every measure to support our farmers.

Like I said, there's a lot more to be done over this crisis, but this is only the start. Surely we can learn from what happened this time around to better prepare ourselves. How about we actually utilise our resources—our oil and gas—more?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are burdened with a weak prime minister, a weaker energy minister and sadly a fibbing Labor government. We're in the middle of a fuel crisis, and what we've been seeing from Mr Albanese is simply not good enough. In fact, it's tragic and it's an insult to the hardworking Australians who are suffering as a result. Labor have no plan and no urgency and exhibit no leadership. Mr Albanese has been blaming consumers for filling up their cars. That's if they're lucky to find a petrol station which actually has the product. But what has Mr Albanese recommended instead? Buy a Chinese made electric vehicle—it's a joke.

We may not control events overseas, but we can control how we respond at home. Hundreds of service stations across the country remain dry. Farmers can't run their machinery, supply chains are broken, parents can't take the kids to school, and people can't get to work. When fuel is available, Australians are being slugged at the browser. The average fuel price is approaching $2.50 a litre, and, if you fill up the car with diesel, it is over $3.

For weeks, the coalition has been calling for immediate relief and the halving of the fuel excise tax. We did it when in government when the Ukrainian war broke out, and Labor should have done it earlier. Only today, after our ongoing pressure, has Labor caved and done some things to support Australians. But Easter is just days away. Families, regional communities and tourism operators need certainty and relief now, not a prime minister who is wombling around the country, in and out of his electric vehicle Comcar, failing to make decisions. Australians deserve better.

Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today Labor is easing pressure on household budgets by cutting the fuel excise. This will deliver immediate relief every time Australians fuel up at the browser. Today the Prime Minister has announced that the fuel excise will be cut by 26 cents a litre and we will cut the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero from Wednesday this week for a period of three months. This is about taking real action through practical measures—the only kind that Labor delivers, just like our calls for a real wage increase above inflation for Australia's hardest workers. It is for one simple reason: we simply cannot allow our lowest paid workers to go backwards as fuel prices go up. For the 2.7 million Australians who are on minimum wages or awards, there is no cushion, no buffer, no safety net as global demand for fuel spikes. And we're doing this responsibly, respecting the independence of the Fair Work Commission and making sure any increase is economically sustainable for the economy and the business.

And we've proven that we can do this. Since coming to office, Labor's support for real wage increases has delivered more than $9,000 extra for minimum wage earners in this country. That's real money making a difference in their back pocket. Our action matters to every retail worker who is closing up late at night, to the supermarket workers restocking shelves before dawn and to servo workers serving customers with a smile no matter what the day has thrown their way. So I say a big thank you to SDA union for standing up for retail workers. You are the people who keep life feeling like normal in unusual times. You are stocking our shelves. You are bagging our groceries. You are there when we pay for fuel on the way home. You show up every day and you deserve more than thanks. You deserve a pay rise, and that's what this is about under Labor.