View a video recording of the speech here (9:28pm)
Scenic Rim is the best farming region in Queensland, but farmers and businesses are under threat from diesel shortages, spikes in prices for diesel and the imminent loss of crops which may not be harvested very shortly if the diesel crisis is not fixed. We know that without fuel Australia stops, farmers stop and the food supply stops. Families are also suffering in a cost-of-living crisis made so much worse by the Albanese government’s inflation-boosting budgets. They cannot control spending and they are driving up inflation and the cost of living across the country. The increased cost of diesel and petrol right now is making it that much harder to put food on the table and pay the bills in the overall context of the Albanese cost-of-living crisis.
It was really encouraging to see the draft determination from the Australian Energy Regulator, which recommended that the default price for electricity come down by 10.1 per cent for households and 12.8 per cent for small businesses—proof that the LNP government’s Energy Roadmap is working to stabilise electricity prices here in Queensland and to do our bit to help with the cost-of-living crisis caused by the Albanese Labor government and their inflation-boosting budgets.
Of course, Queensland was the first state to call out fuel security issues. The Treasurer wrote to the federal minister calling for national leadership and a national plan, because this is an international crisis but we need a national plan to fix it. Along the way, Queensland also raised concerns with the ACCC that fuel retailers may be unfairly raising their prices when they do not need to, impacting families and businesses. We welcome the fact that the ACCC is now investigating allegations of anti-competitive conduct in the last little bit of time that has passed.
Queensland will also be providing assistance towards the national plan as outlined by the Prime Minister after the National Cabinet meeting. We had the announcement that Bob Gee, a very respected public servant from Queensland, will be Queensland’s representative on this important issue. He is also our current Cross-Border Commissioner. I had the opportunity to speak with Bob Gee recently to highlight the fuel shortage issue and how it is affecting people in the Fassifern area who need to harvest their crops. They are facing the very real likelihood of running out of fuel within the next couple of weeks if this is not addressed.
Drastic action needs to be taken because there will be drastic consequences not just for my community but for everyone who relies on our community to be fed, whether in Australia or oversees. We export a lot of food as well, so it is not just our people who are being affected but also our trading partners. Our action in the short term is to ensure the federal government have all of the information they need to deal with this. In the long term, we are opening up new areas for exploration for gas and other resources including the Taroom Trough, which has great potential to be the first new major oil production area in the country since the 1970s.