Libby Coker
Corangamite · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Well, it's finally open. After years of planning, investment and construction, the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre is now welcoming visitors. While it's on Geelong's waterfront, the benefits won't stop there.”
“Participants and their families deserve confidence that the workers entering their homes and providing essential supports are appropriately trained, properly supported and accountable.”
“That's what makes this project so important. It's an investment that strengthens Geelong as the gateway to everything my part of Victoria has to offer, and it's already delivered 1,400 jobs, with more to come. It builds on the work we're doing across the Bellarine and Surf Coast to support growing communities.”
“It should be noted that, throughout this inquiry, the committee made clear that choice and control are the foundation of the NDIS, and they must remain at the centre of any reform. During this inquiry, the committee heard from people with disability, families, advocates, providers and experts.”
“The NDIS was built on trust—trust that participants would receive the right supports, trust that providers would act in the best interests of the people they support and trust that public funding would be used for its intended purpose. As the scheme has grown, the risks facing it have also evolved.”
“This includes a greater focus on fraud prevention and detection, stronger oversight of providers, improved collaboration between agencies and reform to better protect participants. During the committee's inquiry, what was highlighted was the importance of such continued work.”
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“It ensures that Australia remains a hopeful nation that continues to believe in a fair go for all, where opportunity is not determined by postcode, background or circumstance but by effort, contribution and fairness.”
“We choose fairness over inequality, investment over neglect, long-term stability and prosperity over short-term politics, practical solutions over slogans. Labor's budget backs working Australians not just in principle but in practice. It supports families under pressure. It strengthens Medicare. It builds housing supply. It makes the tax system fairer and it invests in clean energy and our environment. This budget moves us in the right direction—a direction grounded in fairness, opportunity and responsibility. It recognises the pressures people are under and responds with practical measures that make a difference. It invests in the future, not just in the present.”
“Across my region, families value the NDIS for essential supports that enable independence, participation and dignity. The responsibility of government is to ensure that the scheme remains strong, fair and sustainable into the future. This budget is also about trust—trust in a government that delivers and trust that people's taxes are being invested responsibly, effectively and fairly. This budget strengthens systems that must endure and ensures that essential programs are not only funded today but remain viable into the future. Budgets are not just about economic documents; they are building blocks to a good life. They are statements of values. This budget makes the Albanese Labor government's values clear.”
“We are ensuring regional and peri-urban communities are not left behind but are active participants in the jobs and industries of the future. For my communities, this means opportunity. It means secure long-term employment in emerging industries. Importantly, it actually means a healthier environment for our children and for their children. This transition must be fair, orderly and forward-looking because it is so important that we continue to strive towards our net zero target. Our government has committed to this, many across my communities have advocated for it and I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure we do our very best to meet those targets. This budget also continues the government's commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.”
“My community cares deeply about our environment and its future. From the Bellarine coastline to the Surf Coast and inland family farming communities, people see the environment not as an abstract debate but as a place to live, work and raise their children. They see the impacts of changing weather patterns, coastal erosion and pressure on ecosystems that underpin tourism, agriculture, local identity and jobs. This budget invests in Australia's clean-energy transition not as an ideology but as a commitment to the next generation to deliver jobs and reduce emissions. We are investing in renewable energy generation, battery storage and transmission. We are supporting clean manufacturing and supply chains.”
“And we are ensuring that GP visits become more affordable. Delayed care can become more serious if people do not go to their GP. It can be more expensive and more distressing for the individual, so strengthening bulk billing is good for people's health and good for the health of the economy. We are also reducing the cost of medicines to $25 per script. For concession card holders, it's now $7.70. These are real savings that make a difference to pensioners, families and people managing chronic conditions across our community. We are also investing in the health workforce of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals because growing communities like mine require sustained investment in staffing, not short-term fixes. This is what a strong Medicare system looks like: accessible, affordable and universal.”
“Across my electorate, from Armstrong Creek to Indented Head, from our growth corridors to coastal towns, people want to know they can access quality health care when they need it, without cost determining whether they can seek treatment. This is what this budget is all about. It strengthens Medicare. We are making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent part of the health system. This includes the Torquay and Belmont clinics in my electorate. These clinics are already making a real difference in our region, reducing pressure on emergency departments in Geelong, shortening wait times and ensuring people can get treated quickly and locally. We are continuing to strengthen bulk-billing incentives, which are already improving access across the region and in our surrounding communities.”
“We are continuing large-scale investment in social and affordable housing after years of underinvestment. We are working with state and local governments to speed up approvals and unlock land supply, and we are supporting pathways that give first home buyers a fairer chance to compete, including the First Home Super Saver program and support for people to buy with a deposit of just five per cent. We are choosing to build, not wait, and to invest, not ignore, because young Australians who work hard, study hard and contribute to their communities deserve a genuine opportunity to put down roots where they grew up. This is not an aspiration for a select few. It should be a national expectation. Health care is one of the clearest expressions of fairness in Australia.”
“Under our changes, from 1 July 2028, trust income will be subject to a minimum 30 per cent tax rate—the same rate paid by an average middle-income worker. More than 95 per cent of individual taxpayers will not be affected by these changes at all. For small businesses, the vast majority will not be affected either. The capital gains tax concessions that most small businesses rely on are not changing, and we are making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent so small businesses can continue to invest with confidence. These are changes grounded in fairness. The vast majority of Australians go to work every day, get paid and pay their taxes. This budget makes sure those workers are treated equitably, not disadvantaged by a system that was skewed against them.”
“These changes are expected to help around 75,000 Australians buy a home of their own. On capital gains tax, we are moving back to discounting gains based on actual inflation—the system that was in place before 1999—rather than a flat 50 per cent discount that overtaxes some people and undertaxes others. These changes only apply to gains made from 1 July next year. Existing gains are not affected. Family homes are not affected and never will be under these changes. For many people investing in shares and managed funds, the new system could be as good or even better than what is in place today. We are also making the tax treatment of discretionary trusts fairer. Right now, a high-income earner using a family trust to split income can end up paying a far lower effective tax rate than a nurse or a teacher earning a similar amount from wages.”
“House prices have risen about 400 per cent over the last two decades, and fewer young people own homes today than at any point in living history. We cannot stand by and let this keep getting worse. That is why this budget changes the rules on negative gearing and capital gains tax. From now on, negative gearing for residential property will only be available on new builds—homes that actually add to supply. Investors who already own properties will not be affected, and investors who buy new builds can still use negative gearing, but we are no longer allowing the current tax system to give investors a leg up over first home buyers competing for the same established properties. By directing investment into new builds, we are also helping build the homes Australia needs.”
“Homeownership has always been central to the Australian story. It is not just an economic outcome; it's about security, stability and belonging. It is about knowing you can build a life in the community you grew up in. Too many young people are now finding that foundation increasingly out of reach. In towns like Torquay, Ocean Grove, Drysdale and across the Bellarine, young people are being priced out of the communities they call home. They are turning up to auctions and being outbid. They are watching homes in their neighbourhoods—homes that once symbolised possibility—slip further beyond reach. This is not just a housing issue. It is an intergenerational fairness issue, and it is one this budget takes seriously. Right now, the system makes it easier to buy your 10th home than your first.”
“For a teacher in Leopold, a nurse in Geelong, a cleaner working early shifts in Torquay or a tradie on the Surf Coast, this is practical relief that matters. These are people who are working hard, often across multiple responsibilities, and trying to keep up with rent, mortgages, groceries and bills. We are also continuing to target fuel relief and strengthen domestic energy resilience, including measures designed to reduce exposure to volatile global energy markets. For a regional electorate like mine, where families often travel long distances for work, school and health care, that matters every single week. This is a budget that recognises pressure and responds with action, not rhetoric, and there's no clearer example of this than the housing measures we're putting in place.”
“It's about real reform. It's not about taking the easy road. It's about setting our nation up for the future and ensuring that Australians continue to have a fair go. We are a hopeful nation, and this budget is about ensuring that hope endures. From 1 July, every taxpayer will receive further tax relief, including a permanent additional tax offset worth $250. We're also introducing a $1,000 instant tax deduction for work related expenses, cutting through unnecessary complexity and putting money back into the hands of working people. Across all of our tax cuts, the average working Australian will be up to $2,800 better off each year. That is 13 million workers getting meaningful tax relief.”
“This budget will strengthen housing, health, energy security and opportunity at a time when we have global uncertainty and supply chain pressures and when ongoing cost-of-living challenges are being felt in every household. It delivers cost-of-living relief now, while investing for the long term, and there's no better investment than education. From early years education to TAFE and university, this is where people build the skills, knowledge and experience to get ahead. That's why this budget includes investment in education. This budget backs working Australians and the future they are trying to build for their families. A central pillar of this budget is redressing the imbalance in our tax system so that Australians know that if they work hard they can achieve. Our government knows that to do this we must make change.”
“There is a simple question at the heart of these appropriation bills: what kind of future are we choosing to build, and who gets to share in it? The Albanese government's budget answers this question clearly. This budget is focused squarely on levelling the playing field—in our tax system, in our economy and in the services and infrastructure that underpin a good life. It is about our people. It's about the families I meet across the Bellarine, the young workers I speak to on the Surf Coast, the retirees I visit in Ocean Grove, the small-business owners in Leopold, the TAFE students from Grovedale, Newcomb, Queenscliff and the towns right across my region. It is about building a future that works for all of them.”
“But enduring institutions require stewardship, and that was absent under the former coalition government. This bill is about ensuring the NDIS remains strong, sustainable and participant focused into the future. We know participants want a scheme that is fair. They want a scheme that is safe. They want a scheme that delivers quality supports, and they want a scheme that will still be there for future generations. This is exactly what this legislation seeks to secure. (Time expired)”
“Across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine, people understand what the NDIS represents because they have seen firsthand the difference it makes to people's lives. They've seen families finally receive support after years of struggle. They have seen carers receive support that allows them to participate fully in work and community life. They have seen a major national institution be built in regional Victoria, creating secure jobs and attracting expertise that continue to strengthen the region today. This is why a discussion about the future of the NDIS is never abstract for communities like mine. People understand both the human importance of the scheme and the responsibility we have to protect it. It does transform lives, and Australians rightly expect it to endure and to be embedded in our health system, just like Medicare is.”
“I remember standing alongside former prime minister Julia Gillard and Bill Shorten, in 2013, when she announced that Geelong would become the national headquarters of DisabilityCare Australia, now the National Disability Insurance Agency. It was an enormously significant moment for our region. I still remember the excitement in the room when Prime Minister Gillard told our community, 'You deserve it.' The decision recognised not only the capacity of our region but also the values of a community that has always understood the importance of fairness, opportunity and looking after one another. The establishment of the NDIA headquarters in Geelong brought hundreds of skilled jobs to our region, but, more than that, it embedded the NDIS into the identity of our broader community.”
“This legislation includes governance reforms in schedule 3. The bill enables a clearer and more transparent pricing framework by making the minister the decision-maker on pricing, following advice from the agency's annual pricing review. It also strengthens protections against overcharging and introduces safeguards around administrative decision-making. Schedules 4 and 5 deal with operational and transitional matters to support implementation of the reforms. The NDIS is one of Australia's great social achievements and one of Labor's great social achievements. It was built through decades of advocacy from Australians with disability and their families and carers, and so much of that advocacy came from the disability community in my region.”
“This principle sits at the heart of the NDIS, but over time interpretations have broadened significantly, contributing to cost pressures and inconsistencies across the scheme. These reforms seek to provide greater clarity around what is reasonable for the NDIS to fund, while considering sustainability, value for money and consistency across government support systems. The legislation also clarifies the meaning of permanence. This bill makes clear that appropriate treatment options should be pursued before any impairment is considered permanent for the purpose of scheme access. These are sensitive reforms. They affect people's lives and they must be implemented carefully and compassionately. But we cannot ignore the challenges facing the scheme. If the scheme becomes unsustainable, it's participants who will suffer the most.”
“The bill also strengthens the connection between funded supports and the impairments that meet eligibility criteria under the scheme. This is intended to ensure NDIS funding remains focused on disability related supports that are consistent with the scheme's purpose. Another important reform relates to plan renewals. At present, many plans are repeatedly rolled over, with unspent funds carried forward year after year. Over time, this can inflate plan values well beyond what was originally considered reasonable and necessary. Under this legislation, all participant plans will have a defined end date. Renewed plans will continue to provide ongoing support while ensuring funding remains aligned with current circumstances and needs. The bill also clarifies the concept of reasonable and necessary supports.”
“That work will involve technical experts, the disability community and state and territory governments, who have to play a stronger role in providing supports for people with disability. The bill also addresses unscheduled plan reassessments, which have become a major driver of expenditure growth. Currently, about one in five participant plans undergoes an unscheduled reassessment every year. Many of these reassessments result in substantial increases in plan value. In some cases, reassessment requests are initiated by intermediaries without the participant's knowledge or understanding. The reforms ensure unscheduled reassessments occur where there has been a significant and ongoing change in a participant's circumstances or support needs. This is about ensuring reassessments are participant driven, transparent and appropriately targeted.”
“This bill enables the establishment of approved panels of plan managers and the commissioning of preferred quality support coordination services. These reforms will strengthen governance, reduce conflicts of interest and ensure participants receive high-quality, trustworthy support. Schedule 1 of the bill addresses broader issues relating to access, eligibility and plan management. The reforms contained in this bill seek to restore greater clarity and consistency. The legislation clarifies the meaning of functional capacity and establishes the basis for more transparent and evidence based assessments of eligibility. Importantly, the bill recognises that further consultation and expert advice are required before thresholds are determined.”
“These changes are practical, necessary and long overdue. This bill also reforms provider registration. Currently, only a small proportion of providers are formally registered, despite the scale of public funding flowing through the scheme. The current definition of 'NDIS provider' is broad and can create confusion. The bill clarifies this while strengthening registration for higher risk providers. Importantly, these reforms will not only improve integrity but also improve participant safety and service quality. The legislation also addresses longstanding concerns within the plan management and support coordination markets. Over recent years, multiple reviews have identified inconsistent standards, conflicts of interest and poor oversight in parts of these sectors. Frankly, participants deserve better.”
“These are serious reforms because the challenges facing the scheme are serious, but we know there's much more to do. The NDIS now administers more than $50 billion in public funding each year. The Fraud Fusion Taskforce has identified significant vulnerabilities within the scheme, and this cannot be ignored. Schedule 2 of this bill directly addresses these integrity concerns. It strengthens the NDIA's monitoring, investigative and enforcement powers by enabling provisions of the regulatory powers act 2014 to apply to the agency, it introduces new civil penalties to deter unlawful conduct and strengthen compliance, it improves information-gathering powers and introduces stronger record-retention obligations and it ensures claims must be made within 90 days of supports being delivered.”
“The budget includes more than $1.35 billion in measures to combat fraud, improve integrity and strengthen the administration of the scheme. This includes more than $358 million over five years to establish a new enrolment and digital payment system that will further improve payment integrity and reduce fraudulent and noncompliant claims. It includes $280.1 million to continue the Fraud Fusion Taskforce and strengthen the NDIA's ability to detect and respond to fraud. It includes $182.6 million to introduce mandatory registration for high-risk providers. There's also the $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund, to rebuild community organisation capability to host genuine participation activities. And it includes additional investment in reform plan management and support coordination services to improve quality and reduce integrity risks.”
“Under the coalition NDIS claims were barely checked for compliance. In 2020 there were fewer than 30 employees within the NDIA directly working on fraud and integrity activities. The system had serious blind spots. Claims submitted between 4.30 and 6 pm on a weekday couldn't be reviewed before they were paid, nor could claims made every second weekend. This is outrageous. But now we've fixed it. As a direct result of the Albanese government's actions, all claims are now visible in the system and can be analysed prior to payment. And we've established the Fraud Fusion Taskforce to tackle noncompliance and enable prosecutions. That's meaningful action. And with this bill and the measures in our budget, we're going even further.”
“And we have heard a clear message that safeguarding participants and safeguarding the scheme must go hand in hand. When fraud exists in the NDIS, it is participants who suffer first. Every dollar diverted through sharp practices is a dollar taken away from someone who genuinely needs support. Where there is weak oversight and poor integrity, there is often greater risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation. This is why this bill matters, and it's why the Albanese government has backed these reforms with substantial investment in the budget. Our government is a reforming government. We're not sitting on our hands like the former coalition government. Under the coalition there was a clear lack of oversight, giving fraudsters the opportunity to infiltrate the provider market and steal from the NDIS and, as a result, from people with disability.”
“These issues are at the centre of the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS's current inquiry into the integrity of the scheme. Since the inquiry commenced, we've heard evidence from researchers, disability representative organisations, legal experts, providers and participants from across the nation. We've held hearings in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, and what we have heard has reinforced the importance of getting these reforms right. We have heard about the devastating impact that fraud and noncompliance can have on participants and their families. We have heard about vulnerable people being manipulated, exploited and financially abused. We've heard from providers who are doing the right thing but are frustrated by a system that allows dishonest operators to flourish.”
“The bill introduces stricter eligibility, funding controls and new functional capacity assessments to ensure the scheme's sustainability, and there will be further consultation with the disability community and the states and territories to ensure support in the scheme and beyond the scheme. They are fit for purpose and are of high quality. This bill reflects extensive work undertaken over many years. It draws on recommendations from the independent review into the NDIS, delivered in 2023; the disability royal commission; and the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce, chaired by Natalie Wade. The bill also reflects the concerns that participants, carers, advocates and providers themselves have consistently raised about integrity, sustainability and participant safety.”
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme transforms lives. It has given hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability greater independence, greater dignity and greater opportunity. It has supported families, strengthened communities and changed our nation for the better. But the success of the NDIS also means we have a profound responsibility to safeguard it, to protect it from non-compliance, fraud and exploitation, to ensure it remains focused on supporting Australians with permanent and significant disability and to ensure it remains sustainable, providing quality support for future generations. That's what the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and the measures included in the Albanese government's budget are all about.”
“We are backing in our regional areas, keeping them front and centre, because we know that when we build communities in regional areas we are helping to build our nation's prosperity. It means we have free bulk-billing doctors. We can find a home, we can gain skills, we can build businesses and we can secure regional work. (Time expired)”
“To make this a reality, to build the workforces we need, the Albanese government is backing in free TAFE, regional university study hubs, broadband expansions, road, rail and safer local infrastructure. We also understand the pressures regional Australians face right now, particularly around fuel, freight and supply chains. That's why this government is acting through a $10 billion fuel security and resilience package, fuel excise relief, protections for farmers and stronger safeguards for critical industries. Of course, there is more to do, and that's why we are continuing to do the hard work to support regional Australians, because health care matters in the regions. Housing matters. Education matters. Economic resilience matters. And that's exactly what the Albanese government is doing.”
“We're also strengthening hospitals, investing in services but also infrastructure, with a $500 million investment in the Barwon Women's and Children's hospital, and we've doubled Roads to Recovery funding to deliver more upgrades in the regions. These investments are transformational for regions like mine. Indeed, so is our work to train more GPs and waive HECS for doctors and nurses who work in regional communities and our commitment to roll out even more Medicare urgent care clinics, with dozens in regional, rural and remote Australia. Our budget on Tuesday also included the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund to unlock more housing supply, including $500 million specifically for enabling infrastructure in regional communities.”
“It means a new headspace service in Armstrong Creek, delivering mental health support to young people and families in one of our fastest growing communities. It means a $20 million investment in Barwon Water's Black Rock Precinct through the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program, transforming environmental waste management across the Barwon region while supporting jobs, sustainability and long-term resilience. It means delivering the $318 million Barwon Heads Road stage 2 upgrade, connecting the fast-growing communities of Armstrong Creek and the Bellarine with Geelong. This is what practical delivery looks like. It means the largest investment in Medicare's history, expanding bulk-billing, with seven local GP clinics in my electorate now moving to bulk-billing.”
“It means cheaper child care and building a universal early education system. It means expanded paid parental leave to 24 weeks. It means 30 per cent off home batteries to permanently cut household energy bills. It means cutting student debt by 20 per cent, for many a reduced debt of more than $5,500. It means the biggest reduction in the cost of PBS medicines in two decades. These are not metro policies or regional policies. They are policies for all Australians, including the millions living outside our regional cities, and, in regional communities like mine, that matters deeply. In Corangamite, it means Medicare urgent care clinics, like the one in Torquay. They're now a permanent fixture of Medicare. They're free, accessible and close to home.”
“More than one-third of Australians live outside our capital cities. It is these regional centres and rural communities that help drive our economy forward every single day. In regional electorates like mine, locals are raising families, running small businesses, producing food, powering our economy and building our future. Our government, the Albanese government, is committed to backing in regional communities just like mine, in the electorate of Corangamite. From health to housing, from education to early childhood education, from infrastructure to productivity, from energy to agriculture to cost-of-living measures, the Albanese government is investing in our regions because, no matter where Australians live, they should benefit from good government. That means tax cuts for every taxpayer, including another cut this July.”
“We know it's impacting the social licence of the NDIS, and more must be done to ensure Australians continue to have trust in a scheme that delivers so much for people with disability. In closing, for those who seek to exploit the scheme, this bill sends a clear message. If you defraud the NDIS, if you put participants at risk, if you attempt to profit from vulnerability, you will be caught and you will face serious consequences. The NDIS was never meant to be a 'get rich quick' scheme. It was meant to change lives. This bill ensures it continues to do exactly that.”
“This does close a dangerous loophole, because you cannot have a system where those advising providers are also responsible for assessing them. It is a conflict of interest, and this will respond to that. You cannot have the same actor playing both coach and umpire. This reform restores integrity and independence to the system. This bill also strengthens whistleblower protections, ensuring people can safely report unsafe or unlawful practices. It enhances the monitoring, compliance and enforcement powers of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. As Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, I know that the overwhelming majority of providers do the right thing. But it's so important that we continue our work to restore integrity to the scheme. It's why my committee has launched an inquiry to further tackle this issue.”
“That is a necessary change because, for too long, penalties have been treated as a cost of doing business for those seeking to exploit the system. This bill also tackles one of the most disgraceful forms of exploitation: misleading and predatory conduct. New antipromotion orders will allow the NDIS commission to crack down on businesses that advertise supports in ways that mislead participants. We have seen examples of marketing that encourages participants to misuse their plans, promotes fake deals or lures people into inappropriate or unsafe arrangements. That behaviour is unacceptable, and under this bill it will be stopped. The reforms also expand banning order powers. For the first time, the commission will be able to ban not just providers and workers but also auditors, consultants and business advisers.”
“If someone has been banned from the NDIS and chooses to ignore that ban, they should not be working in the sector. This bill ensures they face serious consequences. Similarly, it will become a criminal offence to provide supports that require registration without being registered, with penalties of up to two years imprisonment. This goes directly to participant safety. Unregistered, unqualified operators delivering high-risk supports puts lives at risk, and that must stop. This bill also substantially increases financial penalties. For the most serious breaches of code of conduct, where misconduct leads to serious injury or death, fines will increase from around $400,000 to more than $15 million.”
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme is one of the most important social reforms in Australia's history. It was built on the simple but powerful idea that people with disability deserve dignity, choice and control. But that promise only holds if the scheme is protected. That's what this bill is all about. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2026 delivers tough new laws to protect participants and safeguard the scheme from fraud. It is about restoring integrity, it is about enforcing accountability and it is about making it absolutely clear that exploitation has no place in the NDIS. This bill throws the book at serious misconduct. For the first time, it will be a criminal offence to fail to comply with a banning order, carrying a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.”
“It delivers certainty, it delivers support and it demonstrates real leadership. We know the global situation is changing rapidly, but Australians can be assured their government's focus is on easing cost-of-living pressures, securing our fuel supply and getting it where and when it is needed most. I commend the bill to the House.”
“It is about the truck driver keeping goods moving around this country. And it is about making sure that, in the face of evolving global uncertainty, Australians are supported, protected and treated fairly. The alternative approach put forward by the coalition would not deliver this. While we are acting to bring costs down, they are lining up to cut support. They want to scrap initiatives like the Cheaper Home Batteries Program that is already putting money back into the pockets of Australian households and small businesses. Three hundred thousand households and businesses are benefiting from that program, and, at the worst possible time, those opposite are suggesting that the government rip that support away. That is the difference. In contrast, our approach, and this bill, delivers real relief. It delivers real coordination.”
“That reflects a situation requiring heightened coordination and targeted action. Together, the Commonwealth and the states have established a fuel supply taskforce. Officials from across jurisdictions are working together to monitor supply, assess risks and respond quickly. Ministers across key portfolios are engaged. Energy, Treasury, Agriculture, Infrastructure—all working together, all focused on managing the impacts of a global crisis that is beyond any one country's control. And, while we cannot control global events, we can control how we respond, and we are responding in a coordinated and practical way. That is what this bill is all about. At its heart, this is about people. It is about the worker who relies on their car to get to their job. It is about the small-business owner managing costs.”
“We want to ensure that supply chains continue to function effectively, we want to ensure that businesses can continue to operate and thrive and we want to ensure that Australians can go about their daily lives without unnecessary interruption. That is why we are also asking Australians to act responsibly—to buy the fuel they need and not more, and to make sensible choices that help stabilise supply. Australians are generous. We work together when it matters most, and that's exactly what I'm seeing across my communities right now and I'm confident that will continue. We know that managing the challenges of a global markets shock requires a collective effort, and that collective effort is at the heart of our response. National Cabinet has agreed that we are at level 2 under the plan.”
“If you see prices rising, please contact my office and we will get you in touch with the ACCC. It is important to note that measures included in this bill have not been developed in isolation. This is the result of governments working together. Yesterday, at the National Cabinet meeting convened by the Prime Minister, all state and territory leaders endorsed the National Fuel Security Plan. That includes the cut to the fuel excise. National Cabinet includes Labor governments and it includes Liberal-National governments, and, at times like this, Australians expect cooperation. They expect governments to put the national interest first, and that is what has occurred. The National Fuel Security Plan is built on clear and practical principles. The first is to plan and prepare. The second is to keep Australia moving.”
“Australians deserve fair treatment, and that's why we have strengthened the powers of the ACCC. When we came to office we increased penalties and we provided the ACCC with the ability to issue on-the-spot fines. More recently, we increased penalties further to ensure they are a real deterrent. Penalties can now reach up to $100 million because we believe price gouging during a crisis is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. The Treasurer has written to the ACCC to ensure that they are closely monitoring fuel prices. As these changes come into effect, Australians should see the full benefit of the excise reduction—not part of it, not most of it, but all of it—and the ACCC will be watching to ensure that happens. I am also calling on locals across my region to keep an eye on prices.”
“This is about flexibility and it is about being prepared for what lies ahead in uncertain times. It is also about ensuring that this government can respond quickly if global conditions deteriorate further. The reality is this: the situation is evolving, and our response must be proactive and capable of evolving with it. These measures are not abstract. They flow through the entire economy, because, when fuel costs rise, everything costs more. This bill helps to limit that by easing pressure across the entire economy. We are also working closely with the ACCC and the states and territories to ensure the benefits of the excise reduction are fully realised. We are also acting to protect Australians from unfair pricing. At a time of volatility, there is real risk that some may seek to take advantage of the situation. This is not acceptable.”