Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate will now consider the proposal, under standing order 75, from Senator Roberts, which is also shown at item 13 of today's Order of Business:

The Albanese Government's decision to increase the price of fuel by 16c a litre from the 1st of July will make life harder for everyday Australians and small businesses while also contributing to inflation.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

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

This week the government is introducing legislation to make a 16c a litre increase to the excise levied on petrol and diesel. When including the GST, which is levied on top of the fuel tax—it's a tax on a tax—and then adding retailer margins, this will cause petrol to go up around 20c a litre before the weekend. Every litre, 20c—kerching into the Treasury for Labor to waste. This is occurring just when small business and everyday Australians are recovering from the high petrol prices caused as a direct result of the war in the Strait of Hormuz.

Make no mistake, this is a tax on those who cannot afford it. Large corporations can simply pass this rise on to their customers—meaning you'll be paying more. Small and medium businesses can't do that. They have no market power. They are price takers. This tax rise will come straight out of what is left of their profit. Everyday Australians will find their drive to work will be more expensive, as will running around after the children. Even a simple day out, just getting in the car and going out for a drive, will be more expensive.

I know when One Nation promised a 50 per cent reduction in the fuel excise at the last election, the commentariat called that 'inflationary'. Then the government copied our policy and suddenly it's no longer inflationary! Which is correct? It's not inflationary. Reducing the fuel excise reduces the petrol price, which is directly trapped in the CPI—the consumer price index—calculation. Lower fuel prices means lower inflation.

There is a second-round effect as well. Fuel is an input cost right through the economy, from the farmer running a cool room or ploughing a field, to the local tradesman, to the truckie who delivers everything we buy. When fuel goes up, everything goes up. When fuel goes down, inflationary pressure is taken out of the economy. Reducing the fuel excise will reduce inflation. It's that simple. It's proven. This is why One Nation promised, at the last election, to reduce the fuel excise by 50 per cent and suspend indexation for 12 months, with a review after that.

Well, the government borrowing our policy for a few months has provided the review we needed to know that the policy is a winner. Everyday Australians have enjoyed the lower cost of living. Inflationary pressures were taken out of the economy for a short time. This is why One Nation are calling on the government to not increase the fuel excise until June 2028, including cancelling all indexation increases, and then review it after the next election, which any incoming government would do anyway. Give hardworking Australians and small businesses two more years of respite from the Albanese government's high—stubbornly high—inflation.

Why do the government need to put this tax up? Because they're wasting our money again, that's why! This budget included measures that One Nation would have put the red line through. I've already spoken about our policy promising to remove all net zero spending, including the department itself, loans, grants and associated boondoggles. We've already announced all spending on the Aboriginal industry will be terminated. Instead, One Nation will give grants directly to local government to build the homes and roads and provide maintenance and support to Aboriginal communities.

We've already announced that Snowy Hydro 2.0 will be terminated and taxpayers saved from a financial disaster which may reach $1 trillion for capital costs, interest, maintenance and subsidies for the tiny amount of electricity the project will generate in the period the construction loans are being paid back. The budget set aside $3.8 billion for Victoria's Suburban Rail Loop. The Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office has put the cost of this project at $216 billion over a 50-year finance cycle. This is an insane project. Even Victorians don't want it. It's there to put money into the pockets of corrupt union bosses and assorted underworld figures, as 60 Minutes clearly showed last night. One Nation would terminate that project.

We will have more policy announcements in the months ahead. For today's debate, let me say this: the Albanese government needs to stop overtaxing everyday Australians so it can funnel money to its mates in the unions, to the renewable solar and wind industry, academia and other costly lefty nonsense causes—spending that does not benefit everyday Australians and certainly benefits the Labor Party's election campaign funds. Labor is making life harder during a severe cost-of-living crisis. One Nation will put more money back in people's pockets, starting with a freeze on fuel excises until 2028.

Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Fuel Tax Credits Scheme is an important one. It allows for Australians and Australian businesses, particularly in fisheries, agricultural businesses and mining businesses where roads are not provided, to get the rebate on the fuel that they use, particularly diesel. We know that the reduction in the fuel excise, which was so welcomed when fuel prices leapt up, and the removal of the fuel tax rebate did provide cash-flow issues for some small businesses, so it's important that it be a clear position from the coalition that we support the use of fuel tax rebates, particularly for businesses that don't get a road provided for them, for fishermen, for agricultural businesses and for mining businesses that really rely on that rebate to remain competitive, to remain able to afford the huge distances that we often transport and that we have to travel across.

The average increased costs for cane harvesters across a 150-day crushing season is $13,800 without a diesel rebate. It's currently sitting at 20.6c a litre, but it's normally 52c a litre. The average increased cost per day for a prawn trawler on a long trip offshore is $412 per day. For a large mining truck, there are increased costs of $1,700 a day without the 20.6c rebate. Every dollar spent on fuel is a dollar less spent on creating jobs and improving yields.

In Innisfail, a cane harvester can burn around 450 litres of diesel in a day's harvesting. At today's fuel tax credit rate, that's almost $100 every single day. Over a crushing season, it quickly runs into thousands of dollars. In Townsville, commercial fishing vessels heading out to the Coral Sea burn hundreds and often thousands of litres of diesel on a trip. Even at today's reduced fuel tax credit rate, that's hundreds of dollars in additional costs every time they leave the marina. In Charters Towers, diesel doesn't just go into tractors; it powers pumps, loaders, graders and harvest equipment. If you put a cap on fuel tax credits, you punish the very businesses producing Australia's food and fibre. In Mount Isa, one large mining truck can burn thousands of litres of diesel in a single day. A cap doesn't change how much fuel the trucks need to move ore. It simply makes producing Australia's minerals more expensive.

Fuel tax credits don't give regional industries a special advantage. They simply ensure that farmers, miners, fishermen and regional businesses aren't paying a road tax for fuel that's never used on public roads, and removing them would simply increase the cost of producing food, resources and essential goods right across the country. North Queensland's economy is built on industries that rely heavily on diesel powered equipment operating away from public roads—things like sugar, bananas, avocados, coffee, citrus, beef, fishing, marine tourism operators, mining, ports, construction for homes, hospitals and schools, remote communities, disaster recovery and essential services. Oh, and I've left off local government!

Fuel tax credits are a longstanding feature of the tax system that prevents fuel excise operating as a tax on business inputs used offroad. It is a critical part of the construct of our system, a place where agricultural businesses in particular don't receive subsidies, don't receive the sort of encouragement and incentives that those in other countries, particularly in the EU and the US, receive for the production of food and fibre. The system reflects the government's design and a simple fairness principle: that road user charges should fall on users of fuel on public roads. So it is an important construct. We support the use of fuel tax credits and fuel tax rebates.

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Every few weeks in this place, we seem to get another apocalypse from those opposite. Last week, it was one thing; this week, they've turned their attention to fuel, apparently.

From tomorrow, Australians will continue to receive relief at the bowser, with a further temporary 16c-per-litre reduction in the fuel excise through to 2 August. We know families, businesses and truckies are still under pressure, and, while fuel prices have come down substantially since the height of the Middle East conflict, we're not pretending everything is suddenly easy. That's why this government is extending support, while allowing a sensible, gradual return to normal settings.

Let's be really clear: the original reduction in the fuel excise was always temporary. It was introduced in extraordinary circumstances, when conflict in the Middle East sent global energy markets into turmoil. Nobody seriously believed that Australia was going to permanently halve the fuel excise—not us; not the coalition; not One Nation; not the experts; not even the people giving speeches about it today. What Australians deserve is honesty. Fuel prices move because of a whole range of factors: global oil markets, refining capacity exchange rates, conflict overseas and competition between retailers. Pretending that every cent Australians pay at the bowser comes down to whoever happens to be sitting on the Treasury benches is bonkers.

Now, does that mean that people aren't doing it tough? Of course not. I spend plenty of time talking to young families, apprentices, tradies, nurses, teachers, shift workers and people in regional communities. I know fuel costs matter. If you live outside a major city, driving isn't optional. If you're a tradie, your ute isn't a luxury. If you're a nurse finishing a night shift, you're probably not catching the tram home. That's exactly why we've extended this support. For someone filling up a typical 65-litre tank, this extension is worth around $11 every time they fill up. This is money that stays in the family budget instead of disappearing into the fuel tank.

And we're not just supporting motorists. We're also reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge by the same amount over the same period, helping truckies keep Australia moving, because, when freight costs go up, every Australian feels it at the checkout.

This isn't a standalone measure, either. From tomorrow, Australians will also receive another round of tax cuts. Alongside energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE and stronger wage growth, this forms part of a broader plan to help Australians with the cost of living, because cost-of-living pressure isn't caused by one bill; it's the accumulation of everything. And that's where I think this debate really falls apart.

One Nation are happy to complain about government revenue on Monday, demand more spending on Tuesday and tax cuts on Wednesday, and, somehow, expect the books to be balanced by Thursday. That's indicative of a party that has never actually had to manage the economy. They see the world through headlines and slogans, without ever worrying about the consequences.

What we've done, instead, is to provide targeted relief while acting responsibly. Rather than switching off support overnight, we've chosen a sensible taper. This gives families a bit more breathing room, helps businesses plan and manages the flow at service stations at the end of the month. At the same time, the ACCC is continuing to monitor fuel prices to make sure that these savings are actually passed on at the bowser, backed by stronger penalties and additional enforcement powers. We've also taken broader action to strengthen Australia's fuel security. We've invested in additional fuel storage, strengthened minimum stockholding obligations, expanded Australia's strategic fuel reserves, supported domestic production of low-carbon liquid fuels, invested in EV charging infrastructure and given the ACCC stronger powers to respond during future supply disruptions. Australians don't expect governments to control world oil prices.

Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) | Link to this | Hansard source

'Wrong way; go back,' is our message to the Albanese government, which seems hell-bent on slogging everyday Australians rather than going after corporate grifters like Woodside, BHP and Shell. The question that Australians are rightly asking is, 'Why?' Why aren't you representing us? Why won't the government stand up to a handful of greedy gas exporters and make them pay what they owe for our resources? Why? We're talking about $17 billion per year that could go towards our public schools, free childhood education, public transport and renewable energy, that would permanently cut power bills and reduce our dependence on expensive fossil fuels.

Instead of standing up to the gas industry, Labor is letting it infiltrate our early learning centres and our schools to brainwash our children with propaganda to buy their social licence. A new report from Comms Declare identified more than 260 fossil fuel backed programs reaching schools, childcare centres, museums and cultural institutions in this country with virtually no oversight. If Labor had the courage to tax gas exports properly, our schools would never have to rely on fossil fuel funded teaching materials. Teachers deserve properly funded classrooms, and parents deserve confidence that when they send their child to school, they are going to get an evidence informed education, not brainwashing by big corporations like Woodside.

On the third anniversary of the Murphy report, why won't the government show courage there and stare down the gambling lobby? Lobby groups galore are calling the shots in this place. Political courage means standing up to powerful vested interests, not standing beside them. That is the choice before this government. Australians deserve the courage that they were promised.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I do look forward to making my contribution to this matter of public importance brought forward by Senator Roberts on behalf of One Nation. Those listening outside would think: 'Oh, isn't this fantastic? One Nation want to make fuel as cheap as possible.' But I just want to go back and take a little trip down memory lane.

It started probably about four or five years ago. Everyone in this building knows my work in the trucking industry—three generations of truckies. Yes, I'm a one-trick pony on a lot of things. It's transport, but it's road, rail, sea and air as well. Down here, for years, we had the road transport industry—not just the union but the employers. Think about that—the employers and the union in the same room together, as well as owner-drivers. There was the Tasmanian Transport Association, Victorian Transport Association, Road Freight NSW, Queensland Trucking Association, South Australian Road Transport Association, Australian Trucking Association, NatRoad, the Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation, Western Roads Federation and, of course, the Northern Territory Road Train Association. They were all pleading with that side of the chamber to support the move by the government to introduce some legislation that would give the trucking industry the ability to be safe, sustainable and viable.

Those conversations were going for years. I facilitated those alongside my very dear friend Senator Tony Sheldon, as well as before he was the senator for New South Wales, when he headed up the national body of the Transport Workers' Union. The industry came together and said: 'Please help us because we do some fantastic stuff. We make sure that when you get up in the morning your milk is there, your bread is there and your eggs are there. Not only are we delivering to you but we also deliver to the farms. We, the trucking industry, also take out fertiliser. We take out fuel. We take out machinery. Everything that needs to get this nation functioning is carried on the back of a truck. Those cornflakes that might pop up in your bowl tomorrow morning have probably been on nine trucks.'

You would think that One Nation, the great saviour of the Aussie struggler or battler, would be there for Aussie strugglers and battlers. I facilitated meetings with Senator Hanson, asking her if she would please meet with the trucking industry. I saw a tweet come out—this is going back about five years—where Senator Hanson said, 'Truckies and trucking companies should be paid properly and expect to get paid on time.' I got excited. I thought, 'Great, she's going to do the right thing by the trucking industry while they're screaming about the cost of fuel.' Guess what, everyone? Have one guess—who let the trucking industry down? Who was one of the first crossbenchers to tuck in with that rabble over there to deny any opportunity for the transport industry to be represented and to be safe, sustainable and viable with their own body, through Fair Work, so they could get paid properly?

Then we come to the crocodile tears. Senator Roberts, you are one of the most respected senators in this building as far as I'm concerned; I love your work because you actually come with dirt under your fingernails. Unlike most of the rabble in this joint, you've been out there and worked. But, seriously, where were you when we came to you? Where were you when the road transport industry pleaded for One Nation's support? I know, in my heart of hearts, that you'd have been the first one out there doing that. But to move a MPI about how sinister the Labor government is—we reduced the fuel excise by 32c a litre when fuel was going crazy, when the United States did what they did in the Gulf. Come on, let's be real fair about this. Someone's got to pay for all this. We've still got to get freight moving. You know in your heart of hearts, Senator Roberts, that, fortunately, fuel prices have started moving down—nowhere near where they need to be.

I can't look One Nation in the eye and say they really have at heart the best interests of Australia's battlers, truckies and workers that are going to work every day, relying on fuel, when that pleading coming from both sides of the industrial fence to One Nation to be represented together and to be safe, sustainable and viable—I was going to say you crapped on them, but that would be unparliamentary; I apologise, and I withdraw that. How can I look at One Nation and seriously take them at their word that they have at heart the best interests of businesses, strugglers and aspirants who want to make a go in Australia? I find it just too hard.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) | Link to this | Hansard source

Next time you're standing at the bowser in a servo, watching money flow out of your pockets and into your fuel tank, think about how some of the biggest, most profitable, dirtiest corporations in the country are getting cheaper fuel than you are thanks to government subsidies, thanks to the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the National Party and One Nation. Think about the $8 billion a year in public funds that is flowing directly into the pockets of massive corporations to encourage them to burn diesel. These are not struggling businesses who need a helping hand; they are hugely profitable corporations that are cooking the planet. Last year, BHP alone received more than $600 million from fuel tax credits. Rio Tinto received more than $400 million on fuel tax credits. In total, $8 billion a year is going to big, hugely profitable corporations with subsidies that are supported by the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the National Party and One Nation. Fuel tax credits should be abolished for big mining and big fossil fuel corporations.

The other thing fuel tax credits are doing is making it very difficult to tackle climate change. Providing heavily subsidised diesel to big fossil fuel and big mining corporations is disincentivising a genuine decarbonisation of the Australian economy. If we're serious about tackling climate change, government policy should not be subsidising the burning of fossil fuels and we should be encouraging corporations to decarbonise—but, because Labor and the opposition are in the pockets of big corporates, particularly big fossil fuel corporations, in this country, that is not happening. Every dollar spent subsidising fossil fuel use is a dollar spent slowing the decarbonisation of our economy that we know needs to happen, and everyday Australians pay the price all over again. They pay the price every time. Australians never stop paying for corporate subsidies. Australians never stop paying for Labor and the opposition to publicly subsidise burning fossil fuels. It's no wonder we can't transition our economy. The government and the opposition are in the pockets of the big polluters.

Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, the Albanese Labor government is making life harder for everyday Australians. The Labor government is increasing the price of fuel by 16c a litre from 1 July. At a time when families are already struggling to make ends meet, the government has decided that hardworking Aussies should pay more. Australians are sick and tired of being treated like an endless source of revenue. Every time they fill up the tank, they are reminded that governments are more interested in balancing their books than balancing the household budget of Aussie families. Fuel is not a luxury. It is an essential. When fuel prices go up, everything goes up. Transport companies pay more. Farmers pay more. Manufacturers pay more. Those higher costs are passed on through the supply chain until every Australian pays more at the check-out. But don't worry. They give you $5 a week for a cup of coffee.

This decision will add further pressure to inflation at precisely the wrong time. The government claims this is simply the expiry of temporary relief, but Australians do not care what bureaucratic label is attached to it. They know they will still be paying more for fuel from Wednesday. That means less money for groceries, less money for rising electricity bills, less money for the mortgage and less money left at the end of the week. One Nation's policy was to cut the fuel excise by half at the last election. The Albanese government will still be profiting from the spike in fuel prices while Australians are struggling.

As the pain at the pump continues, so does the government's GST take on every litre. Our families are hurting. Our farmers are hurting. Our small businesses are hitting the wall. Small businesses will be among the hardest hit by an increase in the fuel excise. Whether it's a plumber driving between jobs, a builder towing equipment, a courier delivering parcels or a transport company servicing regional Australia, fuel is a daily business expense. An extra 16c a litre across a fleet of vehicles over thousands of kilometres every month adds up to thousands of dollars in additional operating costs. These higher fuel costs do not stop at the service station. Every additional dollar spent filling the tank is a dollar that cannot be invested in employing another apprentice, buying new equipment, expanding their business or giving staff a pay rise. Many small businesses are left with only two choices: absorb the cost and watch already tight profits disappear or pass those costs on to customers through higher prices. Neither option is good for the economy, particularly when so many Australians are struggling with the rising cost of living. It's economic vandalism.

Regional and rural businesses are especially disadvantaged because they have no practical alternative to road transport. Increasing the cost of fuel places an unfair burden on the very businesses that keep regional communities alive. At a time when governments should be backing small business to create jobs and drive economic growth, increasing their operating costs sends Aussies the wrong message. Fuel prices flow through every part of the economy. At a time when the government says it's committed to bringing inflation under control, increasing the cost of fuel risks adding further price pressures across the economy. Instead of reducing the cost of living, this decision places another burden on Australian families and businesses that are already struggling to keep up with rising expenses.

This Labor government has got to have a better plan for Australia. One Nation's plan is clear. Keep the fuel excise where it is. Review it in 12 months. Suspend the road user charge. Prioritise policies that will allow Australia to find, process and distribute fuel. Refine our own fuel. Build new refineries. Increase our fuel storage capacity. Strategic fuel storage must be controlled by Australia on Australian shores. Establish a national reserve with crude oil companies to prioritise supply to Australia. The needs of Australia must be catered to first. Remove the impediments to using domestically produced fuel.

The fuel crisis has been created by decades of net zero destroying our ability to use our own resources. One Nation will abolish net zero. This will put $30 billion a year back into the pockets of Australians by abolishing the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. One Nation has been saying that we need to be self-reliant for decades. We must take back control of our country.

Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the discussion has expired.