Portfolio — 1 April 2026

The Minister for Trade and Tourism, Special Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Farrell, drove two substantive bills through second reading in the Senate on 31 March 2026, both framed as urgent responses to fuel supply disruption caused by the Middle East conflict. Together they represent the government's most significant legislative intervention on fuel security to date.

The first measure is the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (Strategic Reserve) Bill, which delivers the government's election commitment to establish a $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s117]. The bill grants Export Finance Australia new powers to purchase oil on the spot market and to rapidly secure petrol, diesel and airline fuel through a National Interest Account, with additional authority to underwrite fuel purchases, provide insurance, derivatives and loans, and arrange other financial instruments enabling private suppliers to secure cargoes on terms commercial markets alone cannot sustain [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s117].

Senator Farrell characterised the National Interest Account as the best mechanism to direct fuel to Australia's regions and to help importers secure spot cargoes that would otherwise be uncommercial [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s121]. The Minister framed the urgency argument explicitly: Export Finance Australia, headed by John Hopkins, is the most nimble and experienced organisation to act when oil cargoes become available with only 24 or 48 hours' notice [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s127].

Senator Farrell also positioned the bill as forward-looking preparation rather than crisis reaction — a deliberate framing designed to distinguish structural resilience investment from temporary relief.

In debate on the bill, Senator Farrell rejected Senator Canavan's characterisation of the government's record on domestic energy, citing ongoing gas production at Barossa and Beetaloo and expansion in the Cooper Basin and Western Australia [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s123]. On oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight, Senator Farrell attributed the absence of activity to commercial decisions by Chevron, Exxon and Equinor — all of which found exploration uneconomic — rather than to government policy [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s123].

Senator Farrell also acknowledged the government's net zero commitment while positioning gas as a transition fuel and drawing a clear line between the immediate fuel security bill and longer-term energy transition policy [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s127].

The second bill is the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief) Bill 2026, which temporarily halves the fuel excise on petrol and diesel and reduces the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge to zero for three months from 1 April 2026 [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s135]. The excise halving cuts 26.3 cents per litre from the pump price and reduces the cost of filling a 65-litre tank by nearly $19, with the government framing the measure as targeted relief for motorists and truckies hit by Middle East conflict-driven oil price rises [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s135].

The bill is estimated to reduce headline inflation by 0.5 of a percentage point through the June Quarter and expires on 30 June 2026. It also defers the scheduled 6 per cent increase in the Road User Charge, with the government calling on states to reflect that deferral in registration fees. Additional flexibility provisions grant the Minister for Transport powers to vary the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge for the next two years and allow adjustment of the excise rate to honour state undertakings to return additional GST revenue flowing from higher fuel prices [TA-260331-senate-32a8f9c5c8fe:s135].

The two bills are complementary in design: one addresses the structural supply-side exposure through Export Finance Australia's new market intervention powers; the other provides immediate demand-side cost relief at the pump. Both trace their stated rationale to the same geopolitical event, reinforcing the government's overall communication that its fuel security response is coherent, layered and urgent.