Dan Tehan - Member for Wannon
Families and small businesses will pay less for fuel because the Coalition led and the government followed
Australians are right to be gravely concerned about the ongoing fuel and fertiliser crisis.
Fuel underpins modern life, powering the transport of goods, food production, and the daily operations of households and businesses, while fertiliser is essential to the global production of crops and livestock that sustain our food supply.
What has been most alarming during this dual crisis is not just pressure on supply, but the absence of leadership, urgency and a clear plan from the Albanese Labor Government.
The government can’t control the war driving global disruption, but they can control how they respond. But in the critical early days, the Prime Minister showed no urgency and no clear leadership.
At one point, Australians were told there was “plenty of supply.” Soon after, the government warned of a national crisis. Then, a senior Government Minister told Australians there was more fuel in the system than before the conflict.
This confusion undermined confidence and left households and businesses guessing at a time when they needed clarity.
On the ground, the situation is not confusing. Last week, more than 600 service stations across Australia were without at least one type of fuel.
Businesses, farmers, tradies and truckers are all deeply concerned about whether they're going to get the fuel they need to get the job done in the coming days, weeks and months. Key sectors including transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining and emergency services depend on reliable supply and needed certainty.
The priority should have been clear: move the fuel to where it’s needed.
The Coalition has been calling for decisive national leadership.
We urged the Prime Minister to take three critical steps: ensure fuel supplies were distributed to the service stations that had run dry, provide immediate cost relief to motorists, and outline a longer-term plan in case the crisis worsened.
That pressure ultimately led to last Monday’s National Cabinet outcome in which the government agreed to halve the fuel tax for three months, a move delivering immediate relief of around 26 cents per litre, saving Australians an estimated $16 million a day at the bowser.
Halving the fuel tax is overdue relief that will take pressure off the cost of living over this Easter period. But let’s be clear. This decision only came about after considerable and sustained pressure from the Coalition.
While Monday’s decision addresses price pressures, serious questions remain about supply and distribution.
We still don’t have a clear plan to get fuel to the service stations that have run dry. We are left without clear information about where shortages are most acute, which industries are most at risk, and how fuel is being prioritised.
Easter is now underway. For small towns and tourism operators, this period is critical. Monday’s price relief certainly helps but ensuring fuel is available is just as important.
This crisis has exposed serious weaknesses in the government’s ability to plan and coordinate.
It has also showed what can be achieved when pressure is applied and action is finally taken.
Australians deserve a government that leads early, communicates clearly, and acts decisively, not one that responds only after pressure becomes too great to ignore.
The focus must now be on ensuring fuel gets to where it is needed, while maintaining pressure on the government to deliver a clear and credible long-term plan to safeguard Australia’s fuel security.
ENDS
Contact: Sandie Gustus M | 0408 564 232 E | sandie.gustus@aph.gov.au
Published in the Hamilton Spectator
