Portfolio — 14 May 2026

Minister Ayres used 14 May to advance a single, coherent fuel and fertiliser security agenda across media releases and the Senate chamber. Outside parliament, the government announced a $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility backed by new Strategic Reserve powers, secured roughly 90,000 tonnes of agricultural-grade urea, and agreed a two-week 50:50 wage-support package with Tasmania for the Liberty Bell Bay smelter workforce.

In the Senate, Ayres led the second reading and consideration-in-detail stages of the Competition and Consumer Amendment Bill, arguing the legislation gives the Treasurer and ACCC the crisis-coordination powers needed to keep fuel and fertiliser moving to industry, agriculture, mining and forestry. The day's activity shows a deliberate pattern: the media releases operationalise supply-security commitments that the bill's new powers are designed to underpin.