Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief No. 2) Bill 2026

Ms PENFOLD (Lyne) (16:15): Fuel security is economic security and fuel security is national security. Recent events have exposed how vulnerable Australia remains. We are one of the world's great energy producing nations, yet we remain heavily dependent on imported liquid fuels.

We've allowed refining capacity to decline, and we've failed to build sufficient storage capacity. We continue to rely on international supply chains for a resource that underpins almost every aspect of modern life. No fuel means no freight and no food, and no food means empty shelves.

Regional Australia sits at the front line of that vulnerability. The lesson from this crisis is clear. Australia needs more than temporary tax relief.

Australia needs a long-term fuel security strategy. We need stronger fuel reserves. We need greater storage capacity.

We need stronger sovereign capability, and we need more resilient supply chains. We need governments willing to think beyond the next headline and beyond the next election cycle. What Australians want is not another temporary fix.

They want a government that understands what is happening to their country, and, increasingly, Australians are concluding that this government does not, because, after four years of the Albanese Labor government, Australians are paying more for almost everything and getting less in return. There are higher power bills, higher grocery bills, higher fuel bills, higher insurance costs, higher housing costs and higher taxes.

This government likes to blame global events for Australia's problems. It blames wars. It blames supply chains.

It blames international markets. But Australians know better. The cost-of-living crisis did not begin in the Middle East.

The housing crisis did not begin in the Middle East. The energy crisis did not begin in the Middle East. Australia's fuel security vulnerabilities did not begin in the Middle East.

These problems were foreseeable. They were identifiable, and they required leadership. Instead, Australians have received a government obsessed with managing politics rather than managing the country, a government that governs according to focus groups, a government that follows opinion polls instead of leading public opinion and a government more interested in announcements than outcomes.

Again and again, this government has demonstrated that its priority is the next news cycle rather than the next generation. That is why inflation became embedded in the economy. That's why housing affordability continues to deteriorate.

That is why Australia's fuel security remains vulnerable, and that is why Australians are increasingly losing confidence in Labor's ability to manage the economy. The clearest example is energy. This government has become ideologically committed to a renewables dominated energy system, while dismissing the important role that coal, gas and nuclear can play in delivering affordable and reliable power.

Australia is blessed with some of the world's largest reserves of coal, gas and uranium. We should have some of the cheapest and most reliable energy in the developed world. Instead, households and businesses are paying more, while reliability concerns continue to grow.

Any serious government would pursue an energy mix focused on affordability, reliability and security. Any serious government would recognise that manufacturers, farmers and regional communities cannot run on ideology. Yet Labor continues to pursue policies that are driving costs higher across the economy.

Labor's problem is not that it lacks ambition. Its problem is that it lacks realism. It has become so committed to its ideological agenda that it increasingly ignores evidence that contradicts it.

The result is that Australia is becoming less competitive, less productive, less affordable and less resilient. At a time when the world is becoming more dangerous and more uncertain, Australia should be strengthening its economic foundations. Instead, this government is weakening them.

Instead, this government is weakening them. It should be building fuel security and it should be strengthening energy security. It should be encouraging investment and it should be driving productivity.

And it should be preparing Australia for the challenges of the next 20 years. Instead, it is governing from one opinion poll to the next. That is not leadership; that is just political management, and Australians are paying the price.

This is where the Nationals bring a different perspective to this parliament. We remain the only political party whose sole purpose is to represent regional, rural and remote Australians. That has always been our mission and it remains our mission today.

The Nationals are not grounded in anger. We are grounded in the values of the communities we represent: responsibility; self-reliance; family; community; reward for effort; respect for those who build, produce, create and contribute; and the belief that, if you work hard, take risks and play by the rules, you should be able to build a better future for yourself and your family.

Political movements built around anger can be effective at identifying problems. They can even win seats. But anger is a poor foundation for governing.

Good government requires patience, long-term thinking, practical problem solving and a willingness to make decisions that strengthen the nation over decades, not just days. That is what regional Australians expect and that is what the Nationals continue to stand for. The people I represent are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for common sense.

They are asking for honesty. They are asking for governments that understand the pressures they face every day. They are asking for governments that plan for the future.

They are asking for governments that reward aspiration. And they are asking for governments that remember regional Australia matters. This bill provides some temporary relief, and the coalition supports that, but Australians deserve more.

They deserve lower inflation. They deserve stronger fuel security. They deserve affordable energy.

They deserve a stronger economy. And they deserve governments willing to make the long-term decisions necessary to secure Australia's future. The people I represent have not given up on Australia.

Many are worried and frustrated and many feel they are losing the country they grew up in. As the member for Lyne and as a proud member of the Nationals, I'm listening and I'll continue fighting to ensure they get their country back—a country where hard work is rewarded, aspiration is encouraged and, most importantly, governments keep their promises.