Acting Deputy President and I will read the motion for those who are listening to the debate and those who are here to listen, the need for the Albanese Labor government to stop blaming others and take responsibility for fuel supply disruptions and rising prices by explaining how fuel will be delivered to Australians despite Minister Claire O’Neill’s claim. And it’s an extraordinary claim that there is more fuel circulating in Australia than before the conflict in Iran began, and whether or not the Labor Government will rule out fuel rationing or other restrictions, it is extraordinary, Acting Deputy President that in the midst of this fuel supply crisis, Minister Claire O’Neill has come out with the stunning claim that there is more fuel circulating in Australia after The crisis in Iran than there was before. Absolutely extraordinary. What planet is Minister O’Neill living on? She is in a parallel universe. And I want to quote to you from the proprietors of Grantham fuels in my home state of Queensland. And they run an independent fuel station, and they can with with the greatest amount of clarity, respond to minister O’Neill’s claim, and this is what they said on Monday.
It makes us laugh that we keep hearing reports that there are no restrictions on distribution and that there is ample fuel available in house in the wholesale fuel world. Whoever is advising that needs a bit of a reality check. End quote, and that’s from a fuel station operating in my home state of Queensland. And as at Monday, I’m not sure what the position is today, I hope it’s alleviated. But on Monday, they had run out of unleaded 91 they’d run out of premium 95 and they’d run out of premium 98
and in that context, the minister has the gall to come out and say, there’s more fuel circulating in the Australian market today than there was before. The crisis, absolutely extraordinary, living in a parallel universe. And we’ve seen this. We’ve seen this consistently after the outbreak of hostilities in Iran and in the Gulf. Queensland now has 55 stations, petrol stations out of diesel and 35 with no regular unleaded fuel supply. We’re in a situation where the Albanese Labor Government is blaming everyone except themselves. They blamed Australians for going out and purchasing fuel when they’ve been watching their TVs and seeing what is happening in the Gulf and trying to protect their own position and that of their families, and then they blame the opposition for coming into this place and asking questions and making points about the impact of this fuel supply crisis upon our constituents. And I’ve done that in this place. I spoke about the trawler fleet in Mooloolaba that didn’t have the diesel supply, so the five or six trawlers with 5060 crew was unable to leave port and actually go out and harvest wild tuna,
and all we get from those opposite is to blame the messenger, to shoot the messenger, Instead of taking responsibility and actually providing leadership. The Australian people are not interested in the Labor government, seeking to deflect, seeking to shift blame, seeking to come out with embarrassing and it truly is embarrassing statements like Senator O’Neill had said more fuel circulating in the Australian system than there was before the outcome of the conflict for goodness sake. I mean, that is so far removed from the reality of all Australians. It is just laughable. It would be laughable, except Australians are living through a crisis, so the Labor Government has been caught sleeping at the wheel, and it needs to wake up. Needs to wake up and stop blaming Australians for this fuel supply crisis. Needs to wake up and stop blaming the opposition for raising legitimate questions of concern that our constituents are raising with us, and it’s our job to raise those concerns in this place, and it needs to wake up and actually provide some leadership and communication to the Australian people, the mixed messaging we’ve received over the last three weeks is just extraordinary, and it’s culminated in this absurd statement from Minister O’Neill, claiming that there is more fuel circulating in the Australian market today than there was before conflict broke out in Iran.
In the Gulf.
