Dan Tehan
Wannon · Liberal Party · Australia
“We all remember the budget speech of this year, which had all those toxic taxes and broken promises. Those toxic taxes and broken promises are getting bigger by the day, especially the broken promises. Who remembers the Treasurer saying: 'Reforming and strengthening care.”
“I move: That subparagraph (6)(b) in paragraph (1) of the motion be amended to read: "(b) Opposition member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee;" The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade has had a very long tradition of…”
“I think it's really important that that continues, and I hope that the government will support this amendment, which would continue that long tradition and make sure this very important committee can continue to do that important work.”
“I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the member from Wannon from moving the following censure motion immediately: This House censures the Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs for comments made today at the National Press Club—”
“on indulgence—This is obviously an issue between the teals and the government. There's obviously been some disagreement about how the House should be managed. Our hope is that the teals and the government will be able to work it out and that this issue won't further delay all the bills.”
“I can tell you that people will vote with their feet at the next Victorian state election unless this is fixed—and fixed quickly. They're sick of standing on their feet for the whole three hours because of this failure.”
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“The Prime Minister's innovation award winner for 2024 has come out and said he doesn't like this budget. Not only that, we've also heard from the Premier of Western Australia—Labor royalty. The Labor royalty has come out and said that they don't like this budget. Not only that, Chris Minns from New South Wales has come out and said that he doesn't like it. So you've got the Labor economics caucus committee, you've got Chris Minns and you've got the Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, all saying this is a dog's breakfast. Basically, every Tom, Dick, Harry—oh, and Andrew, the member for Parramatta, of course; I'd nearly forgotten him. He's come out and said that he's got concerns about it. I forgot that there's the member for Bennelong as well.”
“The Prime Minister has said publicly, and I hope the Prime Minister was being honest with the Australian people, to use his own words, because he's said it is time to be honest, that these are just simple changes taking us back to the pre-Howard changes. Does that mean you can average over five years or not? Does that mean you can offset a loss on one asset against the gain on another asset? We've put that to the Prime Minister and, guess what, the Prime Minister hasn't got a clue about his own budget. Not only that, now we're starting to see more and more people speaking out against these budgets. We read in the Sydney Morning Herald today—and I think the chair of the Labor economics caucus committee might be in the House with us today—that even they don't like it. They've got questions of it.”
“We've said we will work with all members of this House to have these toxic taxes fully examined and to absolutely ensure that we're doing everything we can to make sure that the Australian people know what the broken promises will mean for them, and the best way in which we can do that, and the first step in doing that, is to make sure that they're fully examined. I would say to the government: What have you got to hide? Why don't you want these toxic taxes fully examined? Why don't you want the entrails sorted through so that we know and understand who you're hitting? Not only do we need to know all the detail; we need to make sure the government understands the detail, because, as we've seen in question time time and time again, the Prime Minister doesn't have a clue about his own budget. What we would like to know is this.”
“It was something that we took seriously when we were in government, because I think it really demonstrates and shows respect to the parliament if you do turn up. I'm hopeful that, in a bipartisan way, the government might agree to this amendment. Basically, the amendment asks for responsible ministers to be present in the Federation Chamber for the consideration of each portfolio. So I move, as an amendment to the motion moved by the Leader of the House: That after paragraph (2), paragraph (2A) be inserted as follows: (2A) the responsible Minister being present in the Federation Chamber for consideration of each portfolio;”
“As you can see, it is a long list. Every member of this House, I'm sure, agrees that, whether it was scrutiny when we were in government or scrutiny now that Labor's in government, we do have to take these processes seriously, because there are serious questions that can be put to ministers around the appropriation bills. So I think we need to make sure that we can do this. As a result, I would like to move an amendment to this motion, which will, if carried, compel ministers to actually show up and to answer questions. I understand it's not the most rigorous of processes, but I think it is important that the ministers are there to the largest extent possible, at least to be able to try and rebut what has occurred.”
“But the list, for the record, of ministers that failed to attend is thus: the Treasurer; the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, and Minister for Cyber Security; the Minister for Climate Change and Energy—maybe he was on a plane to Fiji; the Minister for Defence; the Minister for Education; the Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs; the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities; the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, and Minister for Emergency Management; the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors; the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government; the Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport; and the Minister for Social Services.”
“But, for it to work and for it to be taken seriously, it does require ministers to turn up. The last time that this was done, ministers failed to attend. Now, we can understand there would be some ministers who would be away, some ministers who might be on leave et cetera.”
“Can I first acknowledge the manner and the way in which this motion has been put. Normally, there are some discussions between the government and the opposition as to how this might work. That's something which, unfortunately, hasn't taken place on this occasion. I would just remind the Leader of the House about his own words at the Press Club in 2023: The consultative approach that we have applied to the Parliament itself and to the way we have governed is of itself not just a difference in the way Government functions. If we could just make sure that there are the appropriate discussions of these things—as there always are—that would be great. I now want to talk to the substance of this motion. The Leader of the House did mention the fact that this is like a House of Representatives version of Senate estimates.”
“With what's happened with the cost of fuel going up and the cost of having to travel to see a doctor, do you think there's any real understanding of the pressures they're putting on someone like me? If we didn't have private health insurance, we would never have been able to care for my husband in the way that we did. I want to make sure that I can care for myself and look after myself, and I want to be able to get the best medical treatment that I can, to deal with the illness that I'm dealing with.' I say to the Prime Minister: would you please think about the impact that your changes to private health are having on people? When you stand up in the parliament and you're asked a question about this, do not deny to people that you are actually changing private health insurance.”
“I'm deeply concerned now—with the cost of living and how much I'm paying at the supermarket, my gas bill, my electricity bill—whether I'm going to be able to afford my private health insurance going forward. It's something that I know I need because I've got to get medical treatment the whole time. Does the government and the Prime Minister really understand how hard it is for someone on a pension, who's facing serious illness, to be able to keep their private health insurance? As you know, living in the country, it's not always easy to access the types of services for the disease that I'm dealing with. Do you think that they understand that and that you often have to travel?”
“A week ago I was doing my listening post run. I was in a small town called Derrinallum, a lovely rural little community full of wonderful volunteers who gel and bring the community together for various things. This lovely old lady came up to me and said, 'I'd like to raise an issue with you.' I said, 'Yes?' She said, 'Well, me and my husband—I'm on a pension, he was on the pension, but we've always had private health insurance.' She said: 'Sadly, my husband died not so long ago of cancer, and I've got serious health issues myself. Obviously, I want to make sure I can keep my private health insurance, but the government, as I understand it, has made changes to the way the rebate works for those over 65. Can you tell me what the cost impact of those changes to the rebate will be?”
“It's two weeks into your budget. Who are you carving out? What will be the revenue impacts of carving that out? Will you be upfront and say this budget is collapsing before your eyes, or is it true what people are saying—that you can't lie straight on a yoga mat?”
“Yesterday in question time, the Prime Minister said it's time to be honest. Let's see in this question time if we're going to get any of that honesty. Is he going to admit that the budget two weeks in is unravelling before his eyes? Is he going to admit that the Treasurer is getting advice now from every Tom, Dick, Harry and Andrew? Is the Prime Minister going to be honest about who he is going to carve out of his small-business tax hit? Is he going to carve out the plumbers, the carpenters, the hairdressers and the farmers, or is he just going to do it to a small select group that he wants to appeal to? Come on, Prime Minister, you said yesterday it's time to be honest. We know your budget was a budget of broken promises and of large, large tax increases. What we want to know today is: who is going to be hit?”
“We've heard Albanese Labor government MP after Albanese Labor government MP after Albanese Labor government MP talk about the budget. But there are two things, sadly, that we've failed to hear any of them say. The first is quite easy to do, and I know people in my electorate would greatly appreciate it: just say sorry. You broke promise after promise after promise. Just say sorry, especially you, Prime Minister. You looked the Australian people in the eye and said 50 times 'I'm not going to do it'.”
“So, after year upon year of nothing, all of a sudden, as we're heading towards the November state election—and the seat of Ripon, as we know, is a marginal seat—Labor's out here saying, 'We're going to fix this.' But will they fix it now? No. Will they get a shovel in the ground? No. What are they doing now? They're promising it after the state election, and they haven't even got all the approvals finalised. You, sadly, cannot believe a word that the Albanese Labor government says, let alone the— (Time expired)”
“Last Friday, the Albanese Labor government and the Allan Labor government made an announcement. They said that the Western Highway duplication between Buangor and Ararat was going to be finished. Communities right along the Western Highway thought: 'Gee, this is wonderful. We're finally going to get this piece of highway built.' Sadly, people have died because this hasn't been built and multiple people have been injured as well. So everyone thought, 'This is great news.' But then, sadly, we started looking at the detail. It will be done after the November Victorian state election. So everyone went, 'What sort of a commitment is this?' Then, when you read the fine print, it says it's dependent on final approvals.”
“Speaker, obviously it goes to the essence of democracy in this place that we can ask questions of the government and that we know when the microphone is going to be switched off and when it's not going to be.”
“This was a fun run about making sure that we can conserve and protect one of the greatest native eucalyptus collections in the world. This has been under the management of the Victorian state government, and, sadly, they have neglected it. The Coleraine community have taken back the Points arboretum and are now doing everything they can to get it back to the pristine condition it should be in. They've updated the tracks again. They're putting signs on all the different eucalyptus species and making this a world famous location again. I can't thank the Coleraine community enough for all their efforts in doing this.”
“I've said this: 'In light of the information now regarding the status of the brolga, I ask the Threatened Species Scientific Committee to list the southern brolga as endangered or critically endangered; conduct an urgent review into current projects posing an unacceptable risk to the viability of the southern brolga and its critical habitat; and undertake urgent and integrated conservation action, as outlined in the enclosed threatened species nomination form, to conserve the species.' Let's hope the government acts. Otherwise, that beautiful courting ritual could be something which, sadly, disappears in western Victoria. I had the great honour of participating in the fun run at Coleraine a week ago. This wasn't a normal fun run.”
“One of the great sights you'll see in western Victoria happens when two brolgas are courting and start dancing in a paddock. It is magic to witness and watch. But the sad reality is that the brolga is now a threatened species and this lovely ritual, and other sightings of the brolgas in western Victoria, is getting harder and harder to see. That's why, on behalf of the community, I've taken action. I have written to the government to ensure that the brolga gets recognised as a protected species. This could not be more important. The government talks a huge game about protecting our environment and protecting our nature. Well, now they have a test. I have written to the director of the species listing, information and policy section of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister commit to releasing, on a daily basis, the latest information on (a) the number of service stations which are out of fuel, (b) detailed fuel stockholdings by location, and (c) the number of ships which are bound for Australia and how many have been cancelled or delayed?”
“Tell us what the situation is at the moment in this country in terms of service stations either with or without fuel. People are about to go on their Easter break, their Easter holidays, and they should know what the current situation is. The second thing the Treasurer should detail for us is what the offsets are. We responsibly listed the offsets so that we wouldn't get inflation from a measure like this. We need to hear from the Treasurer, right here and now, what the offsets are. I can see him smiling, because he doesn't have them, and that's why we should—”
“Then there was this from the Assistant Treasurer: Now, it's interesting last week when this issue was front and centre just about every day, the Opposition didn't raise this issue of the fuel excise once for discussion or debate, and it just seems like today it's been raised as a bit of a thought bubble. So the Assistant Treasurer was calling this legislation a thought bubble on Friday, yet here we are! The government is bringing this bill on. That's why we're supporting this suspension of standing orders. It's critically important. As I said at the start, Australians are hurting. There are supply issues which are being hidden now by the government. They won't be transparent and upfront about them. I say to the Treasurer, when he finally gets to introduce the bill, that he should start by being upfront.”
“I'll give you a couple of quotes which show the reluctance, on the government's side, on this issue: Now, when it comes to the fuel excise, that's not something that we've been considering. Who said that? The Treasurer, on 4 March. Then he said: The point that we've made about that, Andrew, is that it's not something that we've been considering. That's the Treasurer, on 15 March. Then there's this: We haven't taken a decision on the fuel excise, we've got a whole bunch of other ways that we're helping, because the emphasis here is on supply— he won't even give us the figures on that— the emphasis here is on working with the states and territories. That was on 30 March.”
“You talk about being responsible. In question time, when you're asked the question, front up and give Australians the facts. Why is the Prime Minister hiding the number of service stations that have no fuel? If there's no issue, then be upfront with the Australian people. I'm here every single day, and we asked him twice yesterday. Returning to the suspension motion, it's incredibly important that we do suspend because we need this fuel excise bill brought on. Once again, we're seeing the government following the opposition's lead. We've led on this, and, once again, you very reluctantly have come along, so you're bringing this bill before the House. That's why we need to suspend.”
“I thank the Leader of the House. As you know, I'm always happy and have a wonderful demeanour—except when it comes to the government making a complete hash, a complete mess, of this national fuel crisis. Here we are again having to rush through legislation because the government has been completely and utterly asleep at the wheel. We are going to support this suspension motion, but we say again to the government: please try and get ahead of the game and don't be playing catch-up all the time. People are hurting out there in the community. They're hurting for two reasons: there is no supply of fuel and prices have gone through the roof. Yesterday, the Prime Minister would not tell the Australian people how many fuel stations are out of fuel and how many service stations do not have either diesel or unleaded petrol.”
“(—) (): Australians are hurting. They don't know whether they're going to get the fuel that they need. They look at the petrol pump every time they go to fill their cars up and the price is extraordinary. It's causing them an enormous amount of pain, and what they want to see is leadership. The Prime Minister has not been leading. The first thing the Prime Minister should do today is get to that dispatch box and apologise to the Australian people for his failure of leadership. We haven't seen a failure of leadership like this since December. That's twice now, in a national emergency— (Time expired)”
“I conclude with this: I really do hope we will see the Prime Minister come into this chamber this afternoon and the first thing he does is apologise to the Australian people for the pain he's caused them, the worry he has caused them, the concern he has caused them due to his complete incompetence in dealing with supply, and also apologise for the fact that his and his government's incompetence has led to a dramatic rise in fuel prices, which is hurting Australians beyond their budget like they never, ever could have imagined.”
“We want to get rid of that because in a national emergency we need all the options on the table. This will be a good test for the Prime Minister. He could say: 'Yes. Six months ago we completely messed this up. We got carried away on ideology, not on practicality.' He could say: 'You know, I'm going to change it. We've realised this isn't good. Governing through ideology doesn't work for anyone. What the Australian people want is governing through practicality.' We will be looking at those amendments, and we will be circulating them later this afternoon. It's good the government is listening to the Australian people. It's good the government is listening to the opposition. I hope the government will continue to act, and I hope the government understands the pain they have caused, the worry on supply and price.”
“We think that if you are going to let Export Finance Australia start dealing with oil, with diesel, with petroleum, with coal, with gas, then you should be able to do it not only on the national interest account but on the commercial account as well. We'll be pushing that forward; it's very good and sensible. In a national crisis, Export Finance Australia should be given all options, so we will be making sure we do that. Then we will be looking to make amendments to the EPBC Act. One of the things that deeply concerns us at the moment—just say the government needed to build a brand-new storage facility to get the diesel or the oil or the petrol here, do you know what? They'd have to go through the full rigmarole of the EPBC changes, thanks to Labor and the Greens and their little grubby deal on the EPBC Act.”
“I wonder whether there will be some sort of asking for forgiveness with someone saying: 'Sorry, we messed up again. We should have acted when the opposition said'. They could have said, 'Great idea opposition,' on Friday and, bang, Monday we'd be here introducing that legislation along with these other three pieces of legislation. Wouldn't the Australian people welcome that? If we had the fuel excise bill cutting it in half and the road user charge bill in here today, wouldn't they like that? The government wouldn't be raking in maybe another $10 million today, another $10 million tomorrow and another $10 million on Wednesday—and who knows when all of these will get royal assent. We don't know that. We do not know that. We are going to put forward some amendments this afternoon on this bill.”
“We'd say, 'There's a prime minister who admits he's been absolutely incompetent with the way he's handled this whole thing, but at least he's big enough and honest enough to be able to admit that's the case.' I'll be very, very surprised if we get that apology. But we over on this side all live in hope. But the sad reality for the Australian people is that they're living in hope but with a huge financial penalty. They're hurting all because of the cost of fuel in this nation. I wonder what the Prime Minister will say to them, because since we said what we thought should happen on Friday, carving out the fuel excise, and today—this will get higher by Wednesday, when I understand they are going to introduce the legislation—the government has raked in another $50 million through the excise just in that space of time.”
“There's an example that we've been given of a service which takes kidney patients to get dialysis and the people who drive those patients so that they can get that treatment. They're now wondering whether they'll be able to keep that service going, because they can't afford the fuel. We obviously were out on Friday calling for a halving of the fuel excise. It's funny—the Prime Minister did a press conference afterwards and he pooh-poohed the idea. Once again, hopefully he's got the dignity to come in here and apologise and say to the Australian people, 'We messed up on the supply and we've messed up on the price, and I'm sorry.' We'd all say, 'Okay, fair cop,' if he would come in and do that.”
“They're out in their tractors sowing. Have they got enough diesel to make sure they can get those paddocks sowed? They're about to do the same thing in Victoria. Have they got enough diesel to make sure that can happen? New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland—you name it—they need that diesel. The government have to make sure that they know where the shortages are and that they can get the fuel to them. So far, there is no sign whatsoever of them being able to do that even though we've been calling for it for over a month. There's no sign of it whatsoever. The other thing that, once again, the coalition has led on is cutting in half the fuel excise. The government has finally realised that people are hurting.”
“You're not to touch coal.' And, yet, here we are today, and they've finally realised that oil's important. They had no idea that diesel powers 50 per cent of our energy in this nation—50 per cent! Fishing, farming and mining are all dependent on diesel. They had no idea about the importance of diesel and no idea about the importance of coal and gas to our nation, especially when you have something like a war taking place. The government had to be led kicking and screaming to admit there was a national crisis going on. Now, finally, they seem to be taking some measures to deal with supply. I hope they're successful, and that's why we're happy to support it. But the other thing the government has to be able to do is identify where the supply shortages are in the nation and get the fuel there. They've had rain in Western Australia.”
“You need to apologise to the Australian people, Prime Minister, because you have messed this up. It's been a catastrophe. Your minister should go, and you should apologise to the Australian people. The fact that we're here today with this rushed legislation coming through, which the opposition have been happy to support because we were given a briefing at seven o'clock last night, shows that the government is literally chasing its tail in trying to deal with this national fuel crisis. I'll give you the most classic example as to why they're doing that. We're making changes to the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act so that they can deal with getting oil here to Australia. Guess what they did last year? They sent a message to EFA, a statement of expectations, saying: 'You're not to touch oil. You're not to touch gas.”
“Can I say that, fortunately, through this national fuel crisis, the opposition has been able to lead. We've seen that quite clearly because the government, right through the last month, since the Iran war began, has put its head in the sand and pretended that absolutely nothing is going on—nothing is happening with regard to Australia's fuel security and the price of diesel and petrol that Australians are paying at the bowser. Finally, it seems like the penny has dropped. The sad reality is that we're in this situation today where it does seem that the penny has dropped for the government, yet it's far too late for Australians. They're really, really hurting. I hope that when the Prime Minister comes into question time today the first thing he does is apologise to the Australian people.”
“So we're happy to support this, but we say to the government that you should follow the precedent that you have followed today on all bills in this House, because this is the way proper government should work. You have made a complete hash and mess of this national fuel crisis. It is a complete hash and mess. Australians are hurting. They can't get fuel, and they are paying through the roof for fuel. It's good to see that, finally, the penny has dropped—one month too late. We're hoping that National Cabinet and the states and territories will be able to help the government again with some announcements after that. Because this is the government actually doing something, having realised this is a national crisis, we are happy to support this suspension of standing orders. Question agreed to, with an absolute majority.”
“The opposition will support this motion to suspend standing orders, but I would say a couple of things, if that's okay. First of all, it's good to see the minister here, and it's good to see the minister actually moving to do something. The only trouble is it's taken over one month since the Iran war started for him to finally realise that we have a national crisis and to start moving, to start pulling his finger out and doing something. That is why we're happy to agree to this. I would say also that we appreciate that this is the parliament working as the parliament should work. We were offered a briefing. We had a briefing. We were able to consider what had happened. We'll have a proper debate of these three bills here today. That's how the parliament should work, especially when we're dealing with a national fuel crisis.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. How many service stations in Australia are currently out of fuel, will the minister commit to publicly releasing daily updates of individual service stations that have run out of fuel and, if not, why not?”
“I say this to the Prime Minister: your backchat, your negativity, isn't working. People want to see national leadership from you, and they want to see it now.”
“Diesel has just hit $3.20 in Warrnambool in my electorate and in regional and rural towns right across Australia. We have people ringing in to talkback shows, saying that they're scared to drive by service stations—scared because of the price and scared because they're worried there might not be fuel in those service stations. They want to see national leadership, because this is a national crisis. They want to see an end to the politics and the endless negativity from the government on this issue. They do not want to see a government that in a national crisis blames everyone else for the issues and takes no responsibility for what is occurring around this nation. The government is being dragged kicking and screaming into having to take action, yet we are still not seeing action. Here is the Prime Minister walking in now.”
“This is the problem with this government in a national fuel crisis. It's all about the politics. It's not about what's happening out in the community at the moment. Why did we want to bring on the ACCC bill? It is because we saw the bill introduced—the shadow Treasurer spent all of last night looking at it. It is a very simple bill. It increases fines. We checked it, we double-checked it, and we thought: 'Okay, there's nothing complex about this bill. It's a very simple bill—'”
“Well, we've seen this morning what this government is all about when it comes to dealing with the national fuel crisis. It is all about politics; it's not about real solutions for the Australian people. We put forward a motion this morning about bringing forward the Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Bill 2026. The government has been saying, for over two weeks, that they wanted that bill passed and passed quickly. So we offered true bipartisanship to get that bill on the papers, get it debated and passed through this House today. What did the government do in response? It attached another bill to this motion, a bill which was only introduced into the parliament this morning—that is, they do not want any scrutiny of it whatsoever. It's pure political game scoring, pure political game playing.”
“I mean, the Australian people are going to need a lot more reassurance, because nothing else that's been done has been done with any sort of urgency. But this will be a test for the government, because, if you're serious, here we have bipartisanship being offered to bring this on and away we go. Let's whip it through the parliament and, if there's any other legislation, here's the offering to the government from the opposition. We understand how people are hurting. We understand the importance of this, so, if you're genuine, we will work in a bipartisan way with you with any legislation that we think will make this better. As a matter of fact, we're happy to go and sit in the minister's office when the paperwork comes up so that he doesn't sit there for four or five days while fuel's being exported out of this country.”
“Remember, the only reason we got it called a 'national fuel crisis' was because Minister Bowen, finally, under enormous pressure, had to admit that that's what it was. But this is going to be the biggest test yet, because here's the opposition offering bipartisanship. We've got this motion. Let's just suspend everything else to do with the parliament and let's bring the ACCC bill on. Now, guess what I think the leader of business in the House is going to do? Guess what I think he's going to do? I reckon he's going to gag us, so this will be a real test. Here is a genuine offer of bipartisanship, so will you agree to our suspension and will you bring the bill on? Will you let us debate it? Will you let it pass, go into the Senate and, hopefully, then it will offer a little bit of reassurance?”
“As they go to netball, as they go to soccer, as they go to football, as they go to gymnastics, they'll be sitting there thinking, 'Gee, this is costing me a lot. We will probably have to limit the Easter eggs that we buy for Easter Sunday. We're probably going to have to think about, okay, are we going to get those pair of soccer boots? Are we going to be able to get those runners for netball?' They are the sorts of things that they will be thinking about. What's the government thinking about? They're not thinking about anything. I mean, there is no urgency whatsoever, and it's going to be an absolute insight into this government's dealing with this issue, this national fuel crisis.”
“It means that, as soon as that rain goes through, all those grain growers in Western Australia are going to want to get on their tractors and start sowing but, if they don't have the diesel, they're not going to be able to do it. Then you go to a family in Tasmania. They might be thinking, 'We might go over to the mainland for the Easter school holidays,' but they're worried. They're worried about the cost of petrol. It has hit $2.60. The cost of diesel has hit $3.20. They're worried that they'll get over there and won't be able to get fuel to put in the car to get back. This is what people are dealing with. This weekend, there will be mums and dads across Australia who will be doing the drop-off to sport.”
“He wants to make sure that we can bring it on and bring it on immediately. That is exactly why we are seeking to suspend the standing and sessional orders—so that we can do this. If the government wants to sit on its hands and pretend there is nothing happening out in our country at the moment, why not be honest with the Australian people and just come out and say that? Everything that we're hearing on our side shows there are real issues and real problems everywhere, and yet we've got a government which seems hapless and helpless about trying to do anything. Just to give you a sense of what's happening in Western Australia, there's a cyclone that's coming through. Hopefully, that won't do too much damage, but that's going to bring rain with it—and we've got the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry here.”
“You have to remember: this is the minister who made changes, because there was fuel being exported out of Australia, to say that it will stay here. He basically changed the sulphur requirements. Guess how long the paperwork sat on his desk for him to do that? Over five days for the paperwork! This is in a national fuel crisis. Guess what we said to him two weeks ago? There are more changes that you could make around the fuel standards. Guess what the minister did? It took him till yesterday to do it. That was two weeks. And he accuses us of not being positive, not offering solutions, during a national fuel crisis. Well, here is another one. This ACCC bill—we've been through it. The shadow Treasurer spent all night last night going through it because he wants to make sure it's fine.”