Tony Pasin
Barker · Liberal Party · Australia
“But the truth is that, in the modern age, if you want to share and communicate with your constituency, or if you're in business and you want to share and communicate with customers, if you're not on a digital platform then you're missing out.”
“I feel a little like an imposter talking on this bill. Many of my colleagues who know me know that I'm probably best described as a Luddite. Even as a Luddite, in this role one has to be across the role of online presences.”
“But it is important that we understand that, as positive as experiences can be in the digital online environment, there are also substantial risks. Like others, I've read of very tragic circumstances. I've had constituents, parents, come to me concerned about the way algorithms are seeking to lock young people in.”
“I've got to say that, during question time, I do sometimes turn off as the Prime Minister is preening his feathers, giving us the 'never had it better' speech, luxuriating in his hubris.”
“It's true to say that today's an important day. It's a day when our nation turns an important page. I do, just as an aside, have to query why those opposite would spend the majority of their contributions obsessing over the Liberal Party on such an important day—on a day when they could be talking about what those opposite are actually ac…”
“Labor's cuts will not reduce demand for health care; they will simply shift more Australians from private health to the public system. That means greater pressure on public hospitals and health services that are already under strain. I want to conclude with another email from a constituent.”
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“But, effectively, as inflation rages, wages try to keep pace with prices. People receive wage increases, but of course that puts them into higher and higher and higher tax brackets. Governments love bracket creep because it's the silent killer in the night. It's the silent hand that fills up government coffers. Well, we've said we'll end bracket creep. We will index income tax thresholds to inflation because that is the fair and appropriate thing to do, not these one-off handouts in terms of the working Australian tax offset. That's not the fair way of doing it. The fair way of doing it is to index income tax thresholds. We've also indicated that we'll cap migration based on how many homes Australians build. It makes sense. You can only invite as many people to your country as you can appropriately house.”
“That does stand in contrast to criticisms that have been levelled at this budget by other Labor premiers, such as Premier Minns and his government in New South Wales and Premier Cook from your own state of Western Australia, Deputy Speaker Lawrence, but unfortunately in South Australia we have a Labor government that understands who their overlords are. In any event, in the time I have remaining, I just want to talk about an alternative plan—the alternative plan—set out by the Leader of the Opposition on the Thursday following the budget in the budget-in-reply, the centrepiece of which of course is the tax-back guarantee. There's an infinite tax revenue glitch, if you like, here in Canberra. It's called bracket creep. Very few people perhaps fully understand it, and they certainly don't understand the scope of what it does.”
“Labor is treating regional Australians like second-class— A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 11:48 to 12:00 Before we were rudely interrupted by the bells, I was bemoaning the silence that has emanated from the South Australian Labor government regarding the disappointment for South Australians with respect to this budget, particularly around infrastructure spending, which is something they've been quite muscular about in the past, particularly when there were coalition governments, but now there is silence.”
“Perhaps, Madam Deputy Speaker Swanson, your electorate office, like mine, receives any number of complaints about mobile phone reception. In fact, it remains the No. 1 issue that constituents raise with my office. This budget cut $21.4 million from regional communications funding. The budget axed the Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia, including future rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program, the Regional Connectivity Program, the On Farm Connectivity Program, disaster and communication resilience measures, the regional tech hubs and the National Audit of Mobile Coverage.”
“I have heard no criticisms about—well, there have been criticisms on the front page of the Advertiser . There has been plenty of criticism, but we haven't seen the Premier or the Treasurer of South Australia stand up and call this out—perhaps because we won't have a South Australian election for a number of years hence. But the truth is we're not going to see the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass in this term of government. In fact, my prediction is we won't see it for a very long time, and certainly not the aspects of it that were ready to go. This budget confirms that. Those opposite like to champion what is in the budget for health. I've been championing a headspace for the community of the Barossa for a very long time. I was hoping it might find its way into the budget, but nothing for a headspace in Barossa.”
“We can take trucks off at Monarto; we can send them along Sedan to Cambrai to bypass those towns. We can duplicate the Swanport Bridge. We can build the Truro bypass. I shouldn't get distracted, but I have been. The Truro bypass—that project that was ready to go, shovels in the ground, before the minister for infrastructure ordered a review. That review cancelled that project, crushing the work that had been done to get the project not just shovel ready but to have equipment there and ready to go. In any event, we have to build a bypass. There is nothing in this budget for that. I was also surprised because when this side of the House were in government and when there were offerings in our budgets for transport infrastructure, we would hear criticism coming from SA Labor. I have heard nothing.”
“I'm also grateful for the member for Sturt, who's in the chamber. She, like me, would love to see heavy vehicles out of the suburbs of Adelaide. Adelaide now remains the last capital city in the country to have a major freight route through the middle of it. In my electorate, producers—primary producers principally—and indeed contractors who move goods drag their freight all the way up to the top of the Adelaide Hills. Under great stress they come down at a controlled speed, only to arrive and to be blessed by the suburbs of Adelaide. They're driving 60-tonne B-doubles along causeways that include many schools. They're traversing the electorates of the member for Sturt and others on the way to Port Adelaide. We have got to get those trucks out of those suburbs. The way to do that is to build the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass.”
“We need targeted structural reform to assist this industry. Global demand for wine is in significant decline. The industry is in structural oversupply. There was nothing in this budget to support struggling wine grape producers. But almost as if to kind of grab the knife and twist it, or to provide a kick in the guts on budget night, we read in the detail that the government has decided to phase out the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant program. I don't know what message Australian wine grape producers can receive out of that other than the Australian government just doesn't care. You're producing red wine grapes at about $80 a tonne. You're getting paid about $80 a tonne but you've spent nearly $100 just to harvest them—no care, no support; in fact, the very modest offering of the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant program is gone.”
“I want to take this speech to the things that perhaps my electorate were desperate to see in the budget, but sadly didn't. Madam Deputy Speaker Payne, we share a constituency that includes wine grape producers. You would know, as I do, the industry is doing it tough. That is perhaps the understatement of the day in this building. I think the industry has done it tough for a very long time but is now at the point of catastrophe. What was needed was real support that could help structural reform for the wine industry, whether those are my producers in the Riverland, the Barossa, the Limestone Coast or, indeed, Deputy Speaker, yours in the Hunter. For years we have warned this government, the Australian Labor Party, or at least I have, that there was need for support. Peak industry body Australian Grape and Wine have been doing the same.”
“But then comes the end of the speech. Australians in their lounge rooms watching this coverage saw an Australian Labor Party stand up and cheer. Now, I've got to tell you, more than one of my constituents has spoken to me about how that really got under their goat. In fact, I've had people say to me, 'Tony, I'm a constituent of yours. I've never voted for you. I probably never will because I'm a rusted-on Labor voter, but it really stuck in my craw to watch the political class, the governing class of this country, cheer—cheer higher taxes, more spending, broken promises.' And that's why, when we read today Labor were expecting the fallout for this budget, I call BS. In any event, I'll speak to more of that in a minute.”
“I can talk a little more about why it is that small businesses around the country are taking to social media to congratulate the Prime Minister for becoming part-owner, part-shareholder and part-director of their businesses; that's for later. Overwhelmingly, Australians think our nation is headed in the wrong direction. I don't think anyone could argue with that. Now, it is the case that very many of them are struggling, and I see and feel that every day in my electorate. Imagine you are doing it tough, struggling to make ends meet, making the choice between heating or eating. You sit down on budget night, turn on the television and listen in to what the Treasurer has to offer—a budget that confirms record spending, the highest taxes a government has ever levied on the Australian people, a series of broken promises.”
“The member for Bonner has just updated the House, in terms of her time spent with small businesses across her electorate, and I commend her for doing that. Someone else in this place has been really busy with respect to small businesses too. He's been popping up in my feed—not once daily, but continuously. The Prime Minister seems to have visited almost every startup operating in Australia. I see him at plumbing businesses, at cafes and at tech startups; he has been a busy man. And he takes a selfie on every occasion—at least, that's what I used to think, but then my friends told me this was AI generated spoof, which I thought was funny. In any event, I couldn't help but accept the invitation that the member for Bonner offered me at the end of that contribution, when she was talking about her time with small businesses.”
“Now, regional communities must stand together, and regional Australians must continue to make their voices heard—respectfully and constructively, but firmly—because, if regional Australians don't stand up for themselves, no-one else will. I don't know about you, but I'll stand up for regional Australians, because regional Australia is worth fighting for—just like I'll stand up for Australia, because Australia is worth fighting for, too.”
“One of the strongest concerns raised with me was the lack of proper community consultation. We heard repeated claims that ElectraNet is only consulting directly with landholders whose properties fall inside the proposed corridors. What about the homeowner who lives across the road? What about the neighbours, the visual impacts, the construction disruption, the biosecurity risks? They matter too. Consultation shouldn't be about pitting one farmer against another, property by property, or one region against another. If ElectraNet genuinely believe in transparency, they should have no hesitation about open public forums along corridor 5. At the conclusion of Friday's meeting, there were two resolutions. One was to call on ElectraNet to have those open consultations in community. The other was for the establishment of a working party.”
“Now Australians are asked to pay twice: first through billions of dollars in subsidies to prop up these renewable projects, and then again through the supply charge on their electricity bills—a charge that covers, amongst other things, poles and wires. This is the same infrastructure, by the way, that's required to bring coal fired energy to South Australia to stabilise the grid. Go figure! We heard from farmers facing scenarios including 30 or more transmission towers on their properties. These aren't empty paddocks; they're family farms. They were built over generations through hard work, sacrifice and stewardship of the land. Regional Australians are entitled to ask a simple question: why, oh why, are country communities always expected to carry the burden?”
“Last Friday night, more than 150 people gathered at a community forum I convened in the northern Barossa about the proposed ElectraNet Northern Transmission Project, known as NTx, and the message from that meeting was crystal clear. Regional communities feel blindsided. They feel intimidated. They're unsure. They feel like they're being railroaded, and they're deeply concerned about what this project means for productive farming land, family businesses and regional communities. Many people are only now discovering the scale and scope of what's proposed: massive transmission towers across productive agricultural land in the vicinity of homes, facilitating industrial-scale wind and solar developments being rolled out across regional South Australia.”
“The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have attacked negative gearing and have gutted capital gains tax concessions—all while doing nothing about bracket creep. This isn't intergenerational equity; this is intergenerational fraud. This is a Prime Minister who has used the very same mechanisms to build his private wealth, but he's now pulling up the ladder of opportunity. It's the ultimate 'up yours' to the next generation of young Australians, and he wonders why he gets booed at the footy—higher taxes, higher costs, less investment, less aspiration. You don't fix these toxic taxes with carve-outs; you axe them.”
“Two weeks ago, the PM and his Treasurer delivered a budget that confirmed this Labor government is the highest taxing government in Australian history. After the backlash, they're desperately trying to soften the edges and find carve-outs and exemptions, but Australians know the truth. The truth is this: when Labor runs out of money, it always comes after theirs. Prior to the last election, the Prime Minister promised no fewer than 50 times that he wouldn't be changing property taxes in this country. What'd he then do? He delivered a budget built on the very same taxes that he promised the Australian people he would never levy. He didn't stop at property taxes. Convinced that trusts are only used by billionaires, they planned wholesale changes that will cripple nearly 300,000 small businesses. These are battlers; they're not billionaires.”
“We need to ensure that people living and working in the basin have the confidence that that shareholding, that capital asset that's held on trust for every single Australian including everyone in this building, is being managed appropriately. It's only with that kind of transparency, that kind of accountability, that we will deliver that trust. And, by the way, without that trust, the work of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder will fail because it will lose political will.”
“It's a complete waste.' That's why this commission is so important, so we can hold decision-makers to account. This is a significant capital asset that is held on trust for every Australian. Whether you live in the basin or not, you're a shareholder in that capital held by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. That asset, in a continent as dry as ours, is just so valuable. It was Mark Twain who said, 'Whisky's for drinking, but water's for fighting over.' In that context, this water, this precious environmental water, needs to be managed appropriately. That's why this commission is so important.”
“We have to give the two million Australians who live within the basin confidence that the water held by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder is being put to the best environmental use, that the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder is meeting the same sort of transparency and governance that irrigators themselves have to face. It's not enough, as the member for Lyne said, to say, 'This is environmental water, so of course that's good.' It's only providing a social good if it provides the environmental outcome. Too often my constituents, and I expect others who live and work and represent areas in the basin would have heard this as well, ring me to say: 'Tony, what are they doing? They're irrigating in the middle of summer, in the middle of the day.”
“That is why the people of my electorate are so incredibly disappointed when they see that the sacrifices they make to ensure water has transferred from productive use to environmental benefit is not being treated with the same respect or all the requirements that have to be occasioned onto irrigators themselves. The people of the Riverland want the CEWH to succeed. They want environmental outcomes, because otherwise that elderly gentleman would never have been there at the end of a long shovel. That's why this motion is so important. That's why this commission is important.”
“I remember one day I was in the Riverland driving along and I saw a strange sight near the bank of a river adjacent to a farm. It was an elderly man digging a trench from the river to a point. It piqued my curiosity. I stopped. I walked down and asked to speak to the man. He was a man in his 80s and he was digging a ditch from the river to a red gum. He said, 'Son, I'm digging this in the shadows of the millennium drought to make sure this tree survives.' In that moment I knew the people of the Riverland, farmers in those communities, care deeply about the environment. This was an elderly man who, quite frankly, should not have been digging at all, let alone that ditch.”
“The motion is seconded. In seconding the motion, I take this opportunity to thank the member for Lyne for bringing this matter to the place and congratulate her for the outstanding contribution she just made. I want to take you back. It's 2012 and I had been asked to be the Liberal candidate in the seat of Barker. That included the communities of the Riverland. As a young person living in Mount Gambier on a family farm I'd spent my fair share of time moving irrigation pipes. In fact, for as long as I can remember I was moving those pipes, or, indeed, from the point at which I could lift one, so I understood the importance of irrigation to farming entities. To be fair, I wasn't someone who'd spent a lot of time in the Riverland, but I was keen to correct that.”
“It's a movement of hope, a testament to community spirit and a powerful reminder that even the toughest journey can lead to life-changing outcomes. So, quite frankly, thank you to everyone involved. Your work is making a real difference. Your commitment is saving lives, and your example should be an inspiration to all Australians.”
“Ski for Life takes that action through its grant programs, delivering funding to support local ideas, backing local leaders and empowering communities to take care of their own. Just as importantly, it's about starting a conversation—honest, sometimes difficult but necessary conversations that build a culture that says: 'You know what? It's okay to speak up. It's okay to seek help.' I'm incredibly proud of Ski for Life, including Chair Mark Facey, who is, quite frankly, the driving force who delivers so much of these positive outcomes. I want to thank all the volunteers, the crew and the many supporters behind the scenes, as well as every single participant who has taken to the water for a cause bigger than themselves. Ski for Life is more than an event.”
“This year, more than 35 teams with around 400 skiers participated. These are people united not just by their love of the sport and their love of the river but by a shared purpose. Together this year, they've raised a whopping $463,103. These funds will enable Ski for Life to invest in grassroots programs, community projects and practical initiatives that strengthen connection, reduce stigma and ensure that no-one has to face their struggles alone, because what Ski for Life understands and what regional Australians know all too well is that mental health challenges don't take a break, they don't discriminate and they require more than awareness; they require action.”
“I rise today to recognise an extraordinary community organisation, Ski for Life. That's an organisation which embodies the strength, the resilience and the compassion of regional Australia. Each year over the March long weekend, teams from across Australia come together to undertake an incredible three-day odyssey, waterskiing over more than 450 kilometres of the Murray River, from Murray Bridge to Renmark. This event, however, is about far more than waterskiing over a long distance. At its heart, Ski for Life is about saving lives. It's a grassroots community led movement dedicated to raising awareness of mental health, promoting wellbeing and preventing suicide, particularly in regional communities, where these challenges are often felt most deeply and where stigma, unfortunately, remains stubbornly high.”
“If the Prime Minister thinks the people of Australia believe that it was his idea all along, I just want to read a text message I received from a transport operator this morning: 'Hi Tony. Thank you for the help putting pressure on the government. The latest announcement is no doubt a result of that pressure.' Aussies get it. Aussies get that, when there is a lack of leadership from the Prime Minister or the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, it's the opposition that has taken the lead. It's disappointing that this prime minister has had to follow, but at least we have dragged him to the point that he needed to get to four weeks ago.”
“Australians, including states and territories, have been pleading for leadership, and today we've finally seen some, albeit four weeks into a crisis. I welcome the announcement of a national security plan around fuel. This is serious and it's necessary. But this government has a track record of big announcements and weak delivery, so I'm going to review that plan's details very carefully. We also welcome the reduction in fuel excise and road user charges. That relief is needed now, particularly as Easter is just around the corner. But it shouldn't have taken the opposition to do the heavy lifting on this. The Prime Minister should have led. He should have taken action before now.”
“This is a government that's prepared to throw away the diesel fuel rebate—in many cases, the only thing that keeps farmers viable.”
“They want fair access, they want certainty and they want a government that's prepared to stand up for them at the negotiating table. Instead, what they see is a deal that concedes too much and delivers too little. Let's look at just one of the things that were conceded in this agreement. It hasn't received much attention, but I've got to tell you it sparked my interest. In one of the articles in this agreement, there was an undertaking to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. When I read the words 'fossil fuel subsidies', I can only think they're talking about the diesel fuel rebates that apply for farmers who use their equipment off road. Now, if you're talking about conceding too much, there it is. That phrase in itself should send shivers down the spines of Australian farmers.”
“Quotas, standards, protectionist measures and settings remain firmly in place, limiting the ability of Australian producers to compete on a level playing field in any event. This is a fundamental problem. You can't claim success by pointing to theoretical access when, in practice, our producers still can't get their product into the market at meaningful volumes. And let's be clear. Regional Australians and the farmers and the fibre producers of this nation don't want symbolic wins. They can't pay their mortgages or, in fact, their diesel bills with symbolic achievements or outcomes. They need economic outcomes that deliver. In my electorate of Barker, I can assure you I meet with farmers, growers and processors every single week.”
“It's hardly a ringing endorsement when they say it lacks opportunity, and I'm worried about the risk of cheap European imports flooding our market. So, when the motion claims the agreement will 'guarantee new and significant market access', we have to ask: where is it? Because the evidence from those on the ground—those that work in these industries, selling their product internationally, 24/7, can't see it. What I see instead is a pattern: high expectations, rushing off to a press release, slow delivery and a government more interested in headlines than outcomes. This agreement was settled, I'd argue, so the Prime Minister could get a selfie with another world leader. While Labor celebrate tariff reductions, they ignore the reality that tariffs were never the real barrier in the first place.”
“They've described the outcome as incredibly disappointing and warned that it fails to deliver meaningful new access for key agricultural exports. The Australian wine grape growers, an industry peak close to my heart—not because I'm a huge consumer of their product, but I represent more wine by value or volume than any other person in this place. What have they said? They've said that, after years of negotiation, they expected better. From the red-meat sector, the backbone of so many regional communities, the message is even more direct. The sheepmeat producers of Australia have said this agreement has sold them out. Trust me; from an agricultural peak, that's strong language. Think about it. It has sold them out. That's language you don't hear often. The Australian Forest Products Association has also been pointed in their criticism.”
“I rise to speak on this motion because, quite frankly, I want to set the record straight. What we're being asked to recognise today by those opposite is not a triumph for Australian producers because, on any fair reading, this agreement falls short for the very people who grow our food and fibre. The government wants to tell Australians this agreement will open doors, but I'm here to tell you too many of our farmers will see those doors slammed firmly in their faces. Don't take my word for it; let's examine what the industry itself has said, because they're the people at the coalface. It's not the Minister for Trade and Tourism; it's the farmers, the foresters, the food producers otherwise in this country. Here they are. They've passed judgement on this agreement. The National Farmers' Federation has been very clear.”
“So, in effect, what we have is that those opposite—who have spent the large share of the last decade demonising fossil fuels and the people that drill for them, refine them and deliver them to our economy—right now are asking for forgiveness and praying that the very people they've demonised over the course of the last decade can get them out of this very, very hot water. To those opposite: Accept our proposal to reduce fuel taxes in this country. Give Australians some relief. And do it today.”
“His fuel bill has gone from $5 million a year to $10 million a year. He's looking at trucks parked up in his yard. I then, over the course of the weekend, had the great opportunity to meet up with some dairy farmers in my electorate. A heap of them came to a particular dairy because they knew I was going to catch up with one farmer, and one dairy farmer said, 'Tony, we run 11 diesel engines.' This is a dairy farm that's not on the grid—not because they want to be green; they're just simply not on the grid. They have to rely on diesel generation for the electricity to run their pumps, their irrigation systems and, indeed, the dairy. These aren't people that can pass these prices on.”
“Plenty of times I've had the experience where I've thought, 'Look, Tony, you've overcooked it; you won't make it to the next town,' but I've never had to think at the same time, 'Gee, I hope that town has fuel.' Unbelievable! The reality is: those opposite have now been mugged by reality. If we're talking about what comes next, can I say to those opposite: supply is one problem—it's the pre-eminent and first priority, of course, because, without supply, as I said, a nation that runs on diesel grinds to a halt—but let's talk about price right now. I spent Saturday morning with a business operator who, in fact, I sat next to in year 8, all the way back when. He runs South West Freight, a small to medium trucking enterprise. You're familiar with this industry, Mr Deputy Speaker Buchholz.”
“I think she used the word 'crisis' about a dozen times. Do you know what? Those opposite—and particularly the minister—have been mugged by reality. He's been mugged by the reality that it actually is a crisis. You know when you pull up to a petrol station and the bowser's on empty? I had this experience myself. This was about four weeks ago. I was coming back to Canberra; I was travelling from Mount Gambier to Adelaide. I had about 100 kilometres of fuel, and I thought, 'Oh, just pull into Naracoorte and fill up.' Well, guess what? There was no fuel in Naracoorte. I could barely believe it. I posted a photograph about that, and, lo and behold, 200-odd thousand people looked at that photograph. I made it, just, to Keith, a hundred kilometres down the road. And never ever in my life have I had that experience.”
“I know, from being around tables where senior decision-makers were making decisions during that crisis, that they weren't focused on what was happening 'just now'; they were focused on what was about to happen and what was going to happen after that. You see, that is the point. We have a minister for climate change and energy who, for a couple of weeks, said: 'Crisis? What crisis? There's no crisis—nothing to see here.' I don't think he just said that in question time. From what we can see now, that was informing his decisions day by day. So, at the time when critical decisions had to be made to get in front of the curve—not flatten the curve but get in front of the curve—he was sitting down, presumably with his head in the sand, going: 'No problem. It'll all go away.' Now, the member for Swan just made an interesting contribution.”
“I rise to speak on this motion, and I do so at a time when Australia's fuel security is not just under pressure but dangerously exposed. Our nation is a nation that runs on diesel—the mining sector, the agriculture sector, the transport sector. I think everyone in this place can agree on that—in fact, there is no argument. But politics is the art of knowing what comes next. The problem we have with the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and the Prime Minister as well, is not that they don't know what comes next; it's that they don't know what just happened. That's the problem. I had the privilege of sitting in this place during one of the most challenging times in our nation's history, COVID—as did you, Deputy Speaker Buchholz.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Mary Morris, a fourth-generation farmer from Eudunda, needs fuel today—for her tractors, for her spray unit and to seed her crop, not to mention for her truck and her utes. Mary's been told that, despite her business being re-categorised as 'critical' and ordering her fuel on 4 March, the earliest she can expect her fuel is 1 April. Minister, why is Mary having to wait four weeks for the fuel she needs to farm?”
“And, while Australians tighten their belts, this government expands the bureaucracy, regulators multiply, red and green tape suffocates enterprise, and businesses are grinding to a halt under the weight of compliance and uncertainty. Labor has driven up costs, driven down productivity and driven confidence into the ground. This is what a weak economy looks like. This is what failed leadership looks like. They have driven up inflation, weakened our energy system, exposed our fuel fragility and forced Australian families to carry the burden of their failures. Make no mistake: Australians are waking up to this mob and what they've done to them.”
“I rise today to speak about the growing and undeniable truth that Australia is weaker today than it was three years ago, and every single Australian can feel it. We have a weak economy propped up by spin and sustained by denial. Growth is an illusion, productivity is collapsing, confidence is gone and the Australian people are hurting. They're hurting at the supermarket. They're hurting at the fuel bowser. They're hurting at the kitchen table. Labor's reckless spending is pouring fuel on the inflation fire. It's driving up prices, driving up interest rates and driving down living standards. Australians have suffered 14 interest rate hikes under this government. That's 14 hits to every mortgage holder, every small business, and that's 14 reminders that this government has lost control.”
“In recent days, petrol prices have surged by as much as 40c a litre in regional South Australia, pushing prices beyond $2 a litre, and they're still climbing. This is adding to the cost of food. High diesel prices increase the cost of planting crops, harvesting crops and transporting goods. Those costs don't go away. They get passed down the supply chain. And guess where they land? They land in the shopping trolleys of Australian consumers. As they're walking down the aisles, they can be reminded—with every item they purchase—that this government has failed them.”
“She wrote this to my office: OTR Loxton had no diesel left late Friday afternoon. Our farm ordered 10,000 litres two weeks ago for spraying after the recent rain and to begin seeding. Only 1,500 litres … arrived … It was rationed and will be gone by lunchtime tomorrow— That's today now. We were told by the supplier they cannot get the supply into the country because it is being held in the city where there are more voters. Here it is. We've got an election in South Australia in 10 days, and it's no surprise to me that fuel is being directed to the cities and not the regions. That's the reality on the ground in regional Australia. While regional communities are running out of fuel, Australians are also being slugged with skyrocketing prices.”
“Across Barker, many service stations have multiple bowsers closed because particular types of fuel have run out. This is not an inconvenience—in Barker, and across regional Australia, it's a threat to daily life. Let me give you an example of that. In Karoonda, I'm advised by the school that the school bus will run out of fuel today. Without fuel, children cannot go to school. Without fuel, emergency services can't operate. I can only hope and pray that the good volunteers of the ambulance service and the CFS had the wherewithal to fill up those vehicles before we ran out of fuel. Diesel powers tractors. It sows our crops. It harvests our crops. It powers the machinery that keeps Australian agriculture moving. Without diesel, farms grind to a halt. Let me read directly from a constituent in Loxton. Her name is Nicolle.”
“Across my electorate of Barker, communities are confronting the consequences of a fuel crisis that this government has failed to manage. In town after town across regional South Australia, the simple act of filling up a tank has become a lottery. Communities that rely on fuel to function are now being told there's none left. In the Mallee town of Karoonda, the bowsers ran dry five days ago. The town's only service station has run out of both petrol and diesel and can't say to its community when a delivery will arrive. Residents are being forced into very long travel to simply fill up their vehicles. In Springton, in our nation's iconic Barossa, locals are reporting similar problems. Pumps have run dry and the community is being told supplies are uncertain.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Can the minister rule out making any changes to the diesel fuel credit arrangements, noting that any changes will slug farmers and miners—”