Appropriation (Fuel Security Response) Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (12:12): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Today, the government introduces the 2025-26 fuel security response appropriation bills. These bills are: Appropriation (Fuel Security Response) Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026; and Appropriation (Fuel Security Response) Bill (No. 2) 2025-2026.
These bills are all about ensuring we are prepared and best positioned to deal with the very real challenges we are facing. The war in the Middle East is causing huge disruptions to global fuel supply chains. Australians are seeing the consequences of this foreign war here, with high oil prices flowing through to the bowser and localised shortages, especially in regional, rural and remote areas.
The bills I am introducing today are about giving government the flexibility to continue addressing these challenges in a timely way over the coming months. They will establish a new $2 billion advance to the finance minister provision to enable funding for fuel security response measures that are urgent, unforeseen, and unable to be funded through existing funding.
Bill No. 1 seeks an appropriation authority of $800 million, and bill No. 2 seeks an appropriation authority of $1.2 billion. These are not commitments to new expenditure. Instead, they establish a safety net for the next three months until the end of the current financial year, in case specific government departments require urgent funding to deal with fuel security challenges.
This new provision will only be available to the following entities: Department of Industry, Science and Resources; Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; Department of the Treasury; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.
Like existing AFM arrangements, funds will only be allocated if the Minister for Finance is satisfied applications meet strict criteria—including that there is an urgent need and that this need was previously unforeseen. We are living in extremely uncertain times, and, from an economic point of view, it's clear that this war cannot end soon enough. But until that happens, we have a responsibility to take measured and mature steps to shield our economy and the Australian people.
These bills are an important part of that. The new steps announced today are in addition to all of the action we are already taking to address the impacts of the war, including: adding hundreds of millions of litres of diesel and petrol by releasing some of our minimum stock obligations; temporarily reducing the sulphur content standards to ensure more fuel can be sold here in Australia, and providing more support to our domestic refineries; providing more certainty to the private sector by underwriting fuel imports where appropriate; empowering the ACCC to crack down on misconduct, including by doubling penalties up to $100 million; our work with the ACCC to authorise major suppliers to get fuel where it's needed in the regions and ramp up fuel price monitoring; and engaging with international partners to strengthen supply chains and fuel security.
I commend bill No. 1 to the House. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Boyce ): In accordance with the resolution agreed to earlier, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour this day.