Catherine King
Ballarat · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“NSW Government has been working to develop an engineering solution and a procurement process in parallel. That's not normally how it works, but they've been trying to expedite that as quickly as possible to work out the way forward. There's been a detailed and careful process to do that because we know we can't take shortcuts with this.”
“I thank the member for Calare for his question, and I also acknowledge the member for Macquarie for her advocacy. She's been in my office consistently about this on behalf of the Blue Mountains community.”
“They will then work with my department on a specific funding request, but I spoke to Minister Aitchison on Friday to signal my support for the Commonwealth assisting in what we know is a very significant piece of infrastructure not just for the Blue Mountains but also the member for Calare's community.”
“It's a little bigger than Navigators, with around 350 households, and I was there last week to celebrate beloved local postie Lyn McNight, who has been delivering the mail for 27 years.”
“We're continuing to invest across the country in transport routes from road to rail, whether it be the completion of Metronet or, today, the start of construction of the new Swan electric ferry fleet. The Suburban Rail Loop and North East Link in Melbourne are providing critical links across Melbourne's suburban network.”
“When considering the Ballarat electorate, you might think of the City of Ballarat itself, with its gold rush buildings, its gardens, our lakes, Sovereign Hill and many proud local manufacturers, like McCain, Mars and Haymes Paint, or our cafes and restaurants, which will soon be battling it out again for the annual Ballarat's Best Pie com…”
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“They will then work with my department on a specific funding request, but I spoke to Minister Aitchison on Friday to signal my support for the Commonwealth assisting in what we know is a very significant piece of infrastructure not just for the Blue Mountains but also the member for Calare's community. I'm very happy to keep the member for Calare and the member for Macquarie informed as we progress those works.”
“NSW Government has been working to develop an engineering solution and a procurement process in parallel. That's not normally how it works, but they've been trying to expedite that as quickly as possible to work out the way forward. There's been a detailed and careful process to do that because we know we can't take shortcuts with this. On Friday, the New South Wales minister announced a contractor has been appointed, with construction to begin in July to provide residents with a clear pathway to reopening the highway next year. I understand right at the moment detailed design work is currently under way, and that includes the possibility of adding an extra lane as well. They're working their way through if that's possible at the moment, and they will then have a clearer picture of how much this will cost.”
“I thank the member for Calare for his question, and I also acknowledge the member for Macquarie for her advocacy. She's been in my office consistently about this on behalf of the Blue Mountains community. Of course, as the members know, the closure of the Great Western Highway has had a very substantial impact on not just businesses but also families trying to get their kids to school as well as on freight operators. I've been briefed regularly by my New South Wales counterpart, Minister Aitchison in the New South Wales government, who's managing the closure and now the delivery of works. In March, Transport for New South Wales, as you know, identified it as a really complex issue. There is a complex geotechnical failure on that 194-year-old Mitchells Causeway.”
“It's all too easy, in the lives that we live, to get caught up in the negativity and abuse on social media. It's perpetuated by a minority of people, but they are very loud. It is incredibly refreshing, when we all go home to our communities and when I go home to mine, to be reminded that the vast majority of people are thoughtful and respectful. They are living their day-to-day lives with kindness and generosity. They're checking in on their neighbours, they're supporting each other and they're stepping up to make their communities better. I am very grateful to them for that.”
“It's a little bigger than Navigators, with around 350 households, and I was there last week to celebrate beloved local postie Lyn McNight, who has been delivering the mail for 27 years. Lyn is known by all of the local residents and their children and also all of the local cats and dogs, who go out of their way to get a pat from Lyn when she's delivering. She's one of those people who makes people's days just a little bit better, with a smile and a kind word. In 2019, Lyn's contract was awarded to someone else, and the Cardigan Village community rallied until the decision was overturned by Australia Post. The community feel that she is simply quite irreplaceable. In both of these proud little communities. Locals are committing to making the world around them a better place for them, their children and their grandchildren.”
“It's home to a men's social group, as well as craft, history and table tennis groups, and it hosts local Pilates classes as well. Spread throughout the space are documents and photos celebrating the history of Navigators and its people. When I was there recently, I was treated to a beautiful morning tea spread and some great conversation. As one local said in their community, you can't just say hello over the back fence when your neighbours are scattered as far as they are in Navigators, so you find a place to come together and connect. The community has very much created that space, and it is absolutely thriving. Eight kilometres away, to the west of Ballarat, is Cardigan Village.”
“When considering the Ballarat electorate, you might think of the City of Ballarat itself, with its gold rush buildings, its gardens, our lakes, Sovereign Hill and many proud local manufacturers, like McCain, Mars and Haymes Paint, or our cafes and restaurants, which will soon be battling it out again for the annual Ballarat's Best Pie competition. But my electorate is also made up of many surrounding small villages with varied and distinct identities. To the south of the city itself, around 270 people live in a beautiful town called Navigators. The community is nestled between two ancient volcanoes, Mount Buninyong and Mount Warrenheip. A year ago, the community officially opened their brand new hub, which the Albanese government was proud to support with $200,000, and it is now a very well-used community asset.”
“So while two members of the right-wing parties opposite think it's more important to address the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship and the third right-wing party here in this place spins its wheels, we are getting on with the job of delivering infrastructure in regional Australia, in suburban Australia and right the way across the country, doing the job every single day of delivering for the Australian people the infrastructure that they need.”
“This is the sort of city-shaping infrastructure you can deliver when you have a government focused on doing its job, delivering the infrastructure Australia needs. With the House and Senate sitting this week debating consumer protection laws for aviation passengers, I was a bit surprised to see my counterpart, alongside the One Nation member for New England, finding the time to prioritise attending a right-wing think tank over in London, talking Australia down, telling the audience of climate catastrophes and that young people should pony up and that universities that don't teach monocultural values should have their funding cut.”
“We're continuing to invest across the country in transport routes from road to rail, whether it be the completion of Metronet or, today, the start of construction of the new Swan electric ferry fleet. The Suburban Rail Loop and North East Link in Melbourne are providing critical links across Melbourne's suburban network. We're also spending money on other rail connections between Logan and the Gold Coast, one of Australia's fastest growing corridors. There are investments in the Bruce Highway, including work starting this week south of Bundaberg, and the big budget investments like the Gateway Motorway at Dohles Rocks Road stage 2. Further south, TBMs are on site to commence tunnelling from the River Torrens to Darlington, and, in Western Sydney, our airport is getting ready to open in July with passengers in October.”
“I thank the member for Bennelong for the question. It was an absolute pleasure to join with him last month to turn the sod on a brand new electric-bus depot in Macquarie Park. The Australian and New South Wales governments are contributing $115 million each to this depot, which will house, charge and operate 150 buses with facilities for 160 staffs. This new depot will really turbocharge the transition to electric buses at a time when diesel prices continue to fluctuate across the globe. It makes common sense to be making these investments The investments are not just happening in New South Wales. Over in Perth, we've invested $125 million in charging infrastructure to power 130 locally manufactured electric buses, and in Brisbane, of course, we've invested $400 million in the all-electric metro program.”
“It's important that we as a government remain responsive to the ongoing impact of this crisis. The legislation is the next step in doing so, and I very much commend this bill to the House. I look forward to its passage here.”
“We know that we are, hopefully, on the road to a pathway out of this, but time is still needed to allow that to occur. That's why the government's taking a measured and staged approach to returning the fuel excise and the heavy vehicle road user charge to their regular settings. Our approach has been welcomed by industry, including the Australian Trucking Association, and I again acknowledge their real advocacy and their capacity to work with the government on this issue; the Australian Automobile Association, representing, of course, all of the motoring groups and the travelling public; and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Andrew McKellar has said: Extending this support provides some welcome short-term certainty for freight operators and the many small and medium businesses that depend on them.”
“While we're hopeful, obviously we know that it is going to take quite a while for this to bear down and for global fuel movements to recover. That's why it is critical that this legislation pass urgently. It will provide that continued certainty and support for those who need it. Extending the fuel excise by another month will make petrol and diesel around 16c per litre cheaper than normal July prices and will save Australians around $11 per tank. In addition to this support, as I said, we're also reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge by 16c for the same period, providing continued relief to our transport operators. This is more temporary help, following the three-month reduction of the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero and the deferment of the next scheduled increase by six months.”
“Because of that work, there's more fuel in the country now than there was when this crisis started in February. Keeping that is important work that the government has done, but we're not immune to what is happening globally. We have seen fuel prices come down from their peaks in April. In most capital cities, the petrol price is around 90c per litre lower and the diesel price is around $1 per litre lower, but we know, particularly those of us who live in regional communities, that it is still creating some difficulty for people. We welcome the agreement between the United States and Iran to de-escalate the conflict. We are desperate for that to hold—I know the whole world is desperate for that to hold.”
“Many of you have taken the voluntary actions this government has suggested to free up more fuel supply so that we can get it to the people who need it the most, like our farmers, our truck drivers and our emergency services workers. In parallel, our government's been working hard to shore up the fuel supply and provide cost-of-living relief to drivers and transport operators who are feeling the pressure of high fuel prices. As at 16 June, our emergency reserves include 44 days worth of petrol, 32 days worth of jet fuel and 39 days worth of diesel, and that's been a combined effort by industry, the international community and the government, working together. We're also continuing to work with our international partners to secure those additional supplies through agreements with countries like Japan, Brunei, Malaysia and Korea.”
“We know that, at the start of the crisis, people were pretty worried about there being a shortage, and we saw that as people tried to stockpile, but they have responded incredibly well. They have really thought about what's happening with fuel usage. They have really thought about the trips that they're taking. They really wanted to make sure that the fuel supply was going to where it was absolutely needed, that our farmers could continue to have diesel and that essential services workers could continue to have access. I want to thank the Australian public for the great work that they've done. This is really about all of us, as a country, being in something together. It is not a crisis of the making of any of us, but we've had to deal with it, and deal with it as best we can, so I really want to thank the Australian public for that.”
“The other thing is that, in my portfolio of transport, there is a co-linking—a road user charge—that the trucking industry pays for. It pays for the money that goes into our roads. But, because the trucking industry is so directly impacted by the price of fuel at the moment, we want to keep some relief going for the trucking industry as well. That's actually what this bill is about, if you were wondering about the debate here. Since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, Australians have been faced, as we know, with rising fuel costs. I want to take this opportunity, frankly, to commend and thank the Australian driving public for their response to the domestic impacts of this global conflict. You have been absolutely magnificent. It hasn't been easy.”
“That was quite the ideological rant from the shadow treasurer. To remind people in the gallery what bill is actually before the House, in case you were wondering after that: this is about whether or not we lower the fuel excise. Given the war in the Middle East and the constraints in global supply and despite the fact that Australia has done incredibly well in being able to secure fuel supply, we're not immune to the fact that there is a global supply shortage that is, unfortunately, increasing prices. We're really conscious that that is having an impact. We had hoped the war in the Middle East would be all over. We all had hoped that that would be the case, but this would provide quite a shock for many people who rely on the cut that we have made to the fuel excise.”
“When things are uncertain around the world, we're focused on helping Australians at home. It might be good to get a question from those opposite about this important issue.”
“Of course, this support has been welcomed by the Australian Trucking Association—and I recognise their strong advocacy on behalf of their members—the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Automobile Association and the businesses that have kept our goods moving all the way around our country. This is additional support for Australians as global fuel movements remain constrained and it builds on the work that we have been doing to support the transport industry since the beginning of this crisis—work like amending contract chain orders through the Fair Work Commission, zero-interest loans for eligible SMEs through the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and more support through the ATO for businesses who are facing fuel related financial pressures.”
“And while we have weathered this crisis well, we know that it will take a while for global fuel movements to recover. It's why the Prime Minister announced yesterday that we are extending fuel excise cuts into July, saving Australians 16c per litre—around $11 per tank. But what we're also doing is continuing the reduction of the fuel excise in the road user charge through to July. That is critical for our freight industry and critical for our trucking industry to be able to continue to move goods and services around this country.”
“Since February, we have secured additional supplies of nearly 800 million litres of diesel, 155 million litres of jet fuel and 340,000 tonnes of fertiliser. There is now more fuel in the country than there was in February this year, before the conflict began. By securing our fuel supply, we are providing certainty. But we do know that supply is just part of the story here. The war in the Middle East has caused the biggest spike in fuel prices. That's why we've worked quickly to cut fuel excise to save Australians money at the petrol pump. And because freight is the backbone of this economy, we have also moved to cut the road user charge for heavy vehicles. We've seen fuel prices come down from their peaks in April but we do recognise that people are still doing it tough.”
“I thank the member for Gilmore for her question. She well knows the impacts that the Middle East conflict has had on regional communities and the price of fuel in those communities. I also very much thank Australians, who have been really magnificent through this. They have done an incredible job in working with government to make sure that we can keep fuel and our freight operators moving around the country. We have been working very closely with industry and our international partners to ensure fuel continues to flow and that we keep our communities connected. On Saturday, the Prime Minister announced that Export Finance Australia had secured, with the private sector, a further 50 million litres of diesel and that this shipment is now headed for Port Botany.”
“There's a reason that they did not back these reforms and voted against them. Fundamentally, they believe we should just leave things as they are and that everything is going perfectly okay and we should make no changes at all, help no young people, let the problem just rot and get worse. The grand coalition of inaction would only deepen Australia's housing crisis, particularly for young people in our regions.”
“For too long, first home buyers have had a housing system stacked against them. On this side, we are making those vital investments and introducing important reforms to get young people in the cities and particularly in our regions into homes. We are already seeing that change. A home in North Ballarat a couple of weekends ago sold to a first home buyer in his early 30s and every other single registered bidder at that auction was an owner-occupier. That has not been happening in our regions for a long, long time. This was one of the first homes under the hammer since we announced these reforms, and already the difference is noticeable at auctions in our regions. But, over there, they call these changes absolutely a gimmick. There's a reason they didn't have a housing minister when they were in government.”
“That includes 1,600 in my own hometown of Ballarat. Our new $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund introduced in this budget will support local councils to unlock much needed housing development. This fund will be open to local government and state utility companies to apply for and will build the critical last-mile infrastructure like water, power and sewerage needed to support housing developments. We're upskilling regional Australians through free TAFE. Today we have taken that next step to reform our tax system and make it easier to get first home buyers into the housing market. The legislation that has just passed this House will help more than 75,000 Australians into their first home. The problem we face in the housing market in the cities and in the regions has been decades in the making.”
“Can I thank the member for Richmond for her question. Like many of us who live in regional areas, her community in the New South Wales North Coast and mine in western Victoria are feeling the effects of a broken housing system. As housing has got more expensive in the capital cities, many city investors have looked to the regions for investment. We welcome that investment, but, as a result, young people trying to buy their first home are being pushed to the back of the queue in our regional areas—young people that want to stay in their hometowns of Ballina or Ballarat but found that they could no longer afford to do so. Since coming into government, we have been working hard to fix this. Already, under the five per cent deposit scheme introduced by this government, more than 250,000 Australians have bought their own home.”
“We're cracking down on wage theft aboard foreign-flagged ships. We're working to promote an increase in Australian-flagged vessels through the coastal trading act review. We're committed to making sure that Australia has the sovereign capability in maritime. The strategic fleet is very much part of that, ensuring that we do have the opportunity for an Australian-flagged vessel, Australian crewed, to be able to help out in those times of emergency and in supply chain disruptions. It's only this side of government that is backing our maritime industry with our Australian strategic fleet. We're committed to revitalising the maritime industry and our sovereign capability in that regard.”
“It will also importantly provide a training ground for Australians who want to join the maritime industry with Australian wages and Australian conditions. On Friday I met Natalie, a young tug engineer, who spoke to me about the opportunities that this would open up for maritime workers like her. Alongside Natalie were members of the ANL executive team, representatives from the Maritime Union of Australia and the maritime industry all together championing the investment in maritime jobs and skills in something that government, unions and industry are absolutely united on. We are continuing the work to secure the remaining two ships for the Strategic Fleet Pilot Program. We have also established the Maritime Skills and Training Initiative with successful applicants to be announced soon.”
“This large cargo fleet, which is to be fully Australian flagged and Australian crewed, will strengthen our economic sovereignty and improve our national security. It will be there for Australians in times of need, whether that's natural disasters, supply chain disruptions or times of global uncertainty. It's a commitment we took to the Australian people, and we are delivering on it. We are an island nation heavily reliant on ships for international trade. Despite this, our maritime industry has been declining for decades. The last few months have shown how critical it is that we invest in and rebuild our maritime sector. The ANL Kokoda will provide us with more options in times of crisis and in times of global uncertainty.”
“I thank the member for Leichhardt for the question, and I want to acknowledge how closely felt it has been in his community. In times of emergency, too often we have seen regional and remote communities in Far North Queensland, in Western Australia and in the Northern Territory cut off. With roads and rail up north flooded, communities are often only accessible by sea. It's been a logistical challenge to make sure that those communities get the support and supplies that they need, often having to rely on foreign-flagged vessels and at times our fantastic Defence Force. Last week, we eased that challenge. I was thrilled to be in Townsville on Friday to greet ANL Kokoda , our inaugural vessel in Australia's Maritime Strategic Fleet.”
“We worked quickly to ensure Rex could continue to operate through its administration and supported the successful sale. On Sunday, I announced that more than $4.8 million in support is being delivered to local councils and regional and remote airports to ensure that the debts that they were owed by Rex were repaid so that those important local airports could continue to operate for the communities that they support. Keeping Australians connected even in times of international uncertainty is important work that the government is getting on with.”
“We continue to meet regularly with them to make sure that there is clear and consistent communication about our strategic reserves and that they are put to good use throughout this Middle Eastern conflict. But we also know that being entirely reliant on overseas jet fuel supplies is simply not sustainable. Right now, Aussie farmers are producing crops like canola and shipping it overseas to be turned into biofuel, only for us to then buy it back. As I've said time and time again, this is, frankly, nuts. We should be producing sustainable aviation fuels here in Australia with Australian canola. That's why our government has made a $1.1 billion investment in developing an onshore sustainable aviation fuel industry. And it's not just in the fuel space that we're supporting aviation.”
“It has resulted as part of the government's work to stabilise relations with China. Our prime minister continues to have open and constructive conversations with Premier Li, and it has led to Australia being one of the few countries to secure additional jet fuel supplies—because of the work on the relationship that we have done. It is these constructive relationships that continue to place Australia in the strongest possible position during times of uncertainty. It builds, of course, on those earlier announcements of securing fuel supplies across South-East Asia and bringing the total additional jet fuel secured to 200 million litres, with 600 million litres of additional diesel. These shipments provide important certainty for the aviation industry.”
“I thank the member for Richmond very much for her question. She well knows the challenges that we all—communities but particularly the aviation industry—face because of the conflict in the Middle East and the importance of the aviation industry in keeping our communities connected. We are working very closely with the aviation industry to ensure that they have the fuel they need to keep communities well connected and Australians are able to do what they love, continue to travel, spend time with families and connect for work. Last week, the government secured more than a hundred million litres of jet fuel from China, resulting in four additional days of jet fuel being added to our national reserve. This didn't happen by accident or because, some way or another, China suddenly decided that they would supply that jet fuel.”
“And we're continuing our increased investment in local governments, Roads to Recovery, committing $4.4 billion nationally over the current five-year funding period. That's $1.8 billion more going to every local council than over the previous five years. We are, of course, delivering increased funding for our Black Spot Program and also the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program. And let me assure the House that not a single one of those programs that I have announced today and that are in our budget look at the colour of any of the electorates. Unlike what those opposite did with their regional rorts programs, we're funding every single local council fairly. (Time expired)”
“Half a billion dollars over the next 10 years will also fund new shared paths, cycleways and other pieces of infrastructure that make it safer and easier for people to walk and cycle. Delivered through the Active Transport Fund, that's $50 million each and every single year, primarily going to local councils. We're delivering an additional $750 million for the Growing Regions and Thriving Suburbs programs: more funding for our local councils and not-for-profits to build the spaces our communities rely on. It's building on the two rounds of Growing Regions and the one round of Thriving Suburbs that we previously had that are building 180 parks, town centres, theatres and sporting facilities right the way across the country—$1.7 billion worth of them overall.”
“The budget has, of course, also delivered for councils right the way across the country. We're delivering $3.6 billion in untied funding to local governments through the financial assistance grants, bringing forward $2.9 billion this financial year to help councils with the cost pressures caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict. Through our $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund in Minister O'Neil's portfolio, which is an extension of the existing Housing Support Program, we're supporting councils to unlock much-needed housing development through infrastructure. This fund will be open to local government and state utility companies to build that critical last-mile infrastructure—like water, power and sewerage—needed to support new housing development, building on our previous $1.5 billion program that they copied.”
“I thank the member for Boothby for her question. As a South Australian, she knows and is aware of the road funding anomaly that has meant that South Australian councils, in particular, have not gotten their fair share of roads funding through the financial assistance grants. For 20 years, there has been a temporary top-up in budgets, and each and every time they've had to come to the Commonwealth to ask for more money. This government is now fixing that permanently, thanks to the advocacy of the member for Boothby. Not only have we delivered an ongoing road funding base for South Australian councils—we've also increased it through indexation. Now councils in South Australia have funding certainty to deliver safer roads and freight routes that their communities need.”
“The government went out and announced a $9 billion program, funded by debt—not funded off cash balance, but funded off debt—to build Inland Rail without any planning and without any idea about how it was going to get into the port of Melbourne or into the port of Brisbane. They had no idea about that at all. Instead, they announced $9.3 billion to fund the whole thing. I'm giving you a history lesson here.”
“Well, I can nominate who's responsible for this debacle of a project, and that might be the person who asked me this question and some of his National Party colleagues. The Inland Rail, frankly, is an absolutely and utterly perfect example of why the National Party and their One Nation colleagues should never, ever, ever again be allowed near the Treasury coffers. This is the worst project in the country in the way in which it was developed, and I'm going to talk you through this. In 2013, we provisioned $1 billion to do the planning work for Inland Rail—the planning work. It was never done.”
“The work required will involve substantial reconstruction to modern standards. There are a number of actions the New South Wales government has already taken in response to the closure, as you're aware: establishing the Great Western Highway Community Coordination Taskforce; delivering extra public transport services to support connectivity; boosting maintenance and resilience works on key detour routes including Bells Line of Road, Darling Causeway and Chifley Road; and committing $50 million to strengthen and upgrade all of the detour routes as well. Transport for NSW continues to engage.”
“It does reflect the seriousness and the complexity of the failure and the need to get the solution right. Significant cracking and movement have been detected in the substructure of the Mitchell's Causeway, and detailed geotechnical investigations have confirmed that the underlying fill has deteriorated, creating voids and instability within that structure. Transport for NSW has completed extensive testing and is now moving into the next phase, working with industry to identify and finalise an engineering solution to safely reopen the road. A competitive process is underway with multiple engineering proposals shortlisted and a final solution expected to be selected shortly. I don't underestimate. This is a very serious situation, and it is not a quick or simple fix.”
“I thank the member for Calare. I know that his community is highly concerned about this, and I respect that that's the spirit in which he's raised it. As you're aware, the Great Western Highway does remain closed at Mitchell's Causeway, following what has been a major geotechnical failure. I remain in contact with Minister Aitchison's office—the New South Wales roads minister—and I continue to seek the latest updates about the situation. I continue to be advised by the NSW government that the road is simply not safe and cannot reopen until it is. There can't be any shortcuts on that. The New South Wales roads minister has made it clear there is currently no firm timetable for reopening, with the closure expected to extend beyond the three-month estimate that was originally given.”
“From peak bodies to unions and to small operators, we have been taking these actions because they have told us that they are vital and urgent. Meanwhile, we see from the coalition's leaked talking points that they are being instructed to tell Australians that—despite that we do have a clear plan, they're going to pretend that there's no plan, and, despite our work to secure fuel supply, they're out there heightening fears within the community. There is no leadership from the Leader of the Opposition.”
“This, of course, builds on the work that we've already done: releasing 20 per cent of the minimum stockholding obligation; underwriting additional cargo so we can get more fuel, fertiliser and other essential goods into Australia; amending the fuel standards for petrol and diesel to allow more supply into the market; strengthening the ACCC's hand in doubling penalties for companies found guilty of unfairly rising fuel prices; changing the Fair Work Act so transport operators in particular can renegotiate their contracts quickly to help cover rising fuel costs; and working with our regional partners, whether it's Singapore or Korea, to shore up supply, strengthen energy security and support the flow of essential goods. These are just some of the practical actions this government has taken within this week alone.”
“This morning, I spoke with the Australian Trucking Association, who told us these changes will really help road freight operators feeling the pinch of high fuel prices. Road Freight NSW said it provided immediate and meaningful relief to operators, and the Australian retail sector has called the measures critical for retailers facing increased freight and shipping costs.”
“We're also making it easier and faster for small businesses to access credit and working with banks on options for loan deferrals and other supports for customers doing it tough. I spoke last week with Tim, one of my local freight owners in Ballarat, and he told me these—amongst the fuel, excise and road user charges—were very much needed. They are happening alongside our temporary three-month halving of fuel excise and reducing the heavy road user charge to zero for three months. This will reduce the cost of moving essential goods across the country, taking pressure off every part of our supply chain. That helps Australians as they do the weekly grocery shop, visit Bunnings or make purchases from a local small business, and they've been welcomed by industry.”
“I very much thank the member for Macarthur, and I know he won't mind me saying this, but I know he's a very proud dad of his son, who I first met on the Western Sydney airport construction site. He's a great construction worker. I understand he's now working on the M6, another terrific project for Western Sydney, so I do want to shout out to him. We have been working really closely with the transport and fuel industries to make sure we're all working off the same information and tackling challenges as they arise. This morning, the Treasurer, alongside the Minister for Small Business and the assistant minister, announced that the ATO will provide temporary relief to businesses unable to meet their tax obligations.”