Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges:

(a) Australians are currently battling the cost of living pressures and struggling to pay for mortgages, bills and everyday household needs;

(b) across various petrol stations within Australia, the petrol prices have consistently remained above $2 per litre and Australians are expected to pay approximately $100 to fill their tank or up to $200 for large vehicles; and

(c) in the electoral division of Fowler, being one of the most disadvantaged electorates, approximately 60 per cent of constituents rely on their vehicles to commute to and from work, including to other electorates;

(2) notes that the previous Government temporarily reduced fuel excise duty from 30 March 2022 to 28 September 2022, which provided significant relief to the cost of living crisis following the aftermath of COVID-19; and

(3) calls on the Government to indefinitely reduce fuel excise duty as a form of cost of living relief for Australians currently experiencing financial hardship.

We recently saw in the budget a grand plan for Australia's future: $22.7 billion for us to transition to a net zero economy over the next decade so that we can be globally competitive in the renewables industry. This is the A Future Made in Australia plan. It sounds very futuristic to think about and a positive goal to strive towards, but what about the present? How are people coping with the cost of living as the government goes full throttle towards a net zero economy?

I have spoken many times in this House about the current cost for the many working families in my electorate of Fowler—and, no doubt, across Western Sydney—of filling up a petrol car. I was hoping to see some form of relief in the budget—a cut to the fuel excise, which would benefit every working Australian—but there was nothing. Long gone is the dream of filling up your car's tank without the stress of the price per litre. These days it seems like a game: looking for the service station with the cheapest petrol. Australians can expect about $100 or more for a full tank if the vehicle is larger. A tank worth $100 may not even be enough to take you throughout the week, and then you may have to refuel again. Sixty per cent of my Fowler constituents rely on their vehicles as their primary mode of transport. They commute to work, which may be outside the electorate. They commute to grocery shopping. They commute to doctor appointments. They commute to take their loved ones to and from places. What do you think it means for them? More money spent on petrol—money they may not have during this cost-of-living crisis. Can you imagine students driving to university, with no jobs but having to throw down $100 just to get to class? What about apprentices having to drive to their site for formal training on apprentice wages? Do you think they can afford it? To add fuel to fire, many of my constituents have to pay heavy tolls to travel from the west to where they work, mostly in the city.

The Commissioner of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has shared that, while average petrol prices decreased in the December quarter of 2023, the retail petrol prices remain relatively high. Why hasn't the government done anything to force those energy companies to pass on cheaper fuel prices to our working people? Australian fuel prices are not controlled by the government and are dependent on the market—I get that. However, what about the GST and fuel excise that are levied by the Australian government? This is something within the control of the government of the day. Fuel excise is a flat sales tax levied by the government on petrol bought at the bowser and indexed twice a year in line with CPI. This is on top of the 10 per cent GST payable. As of 5 February 2024, the fuel excise levy has increased from 48.8c per litre to 49.6c per litre for every litre of petrol purchased. It may not be a small increase in the eyes of the government, but Australians can feel the pressure.

Australians are already living on the edge with the cost of living. Cutting fuel excise can give the relief that Aussies need during this time. The fuel excise was initially intended to be used to build roads infrastructure, but we now know that the money collected goes to general revenue. In times of economic crisis, why can't the government give Australians a little helping hand through cutting fuel excise? In 2022, the coalition government temporarily reduced fuel excise from 30 March 2022 to 28 September 2022, which provided significant relief to Australians following the aftermath of COVID-19. Many of my constituents were grateful for this policy and were disheartened when it ended.

In the Australian Financial Review in October 2023, it was reported that the government was not prepared to provide a cut to the fuel excise. Instead, I understand the government is pushing for cars that are more fuel-efficient, equipped with low-emissions and net zero technology—all well and good, but not everyone can afford an electric car. Electric cars are still novel to Australians and could cost them their entire salary. I get that there are cheaper electric cars from China, but Fowler constituents are still spending their money thinly across expenses to meet the cost of living. The Australian government cannot expect us all to jump on the EV wagon in this current economy. I know that my constituents won't be able to afford it. It is unavoidable that my constituents and many Australians must use their vehicles to get to and from their destinations. I thereby call on the government to consider indefinitely cutting the fuel excise to assist working Australians who need to make a living and can use the extra money where it actually matters—for their households, families and loved ones. Australians need this relief now, and this is a most modest ask of the government.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I happily rise to speak on this motion on the cost of living. The Albanese Labor government has delivered a restrained and responsible budget that will ease the cost-of-living pressures and not add to inflation. On 1 July this year, the Albanese government will deliver a tax cut to every Australian taxpayer, 13.6 million people. That includes the 76,000 people living in McEwen who will receive a tax cut. The average tax cut will be $1,583. In McEwen, that means 86 per cent of our taxpayers will be better off under Labor's tax cut. Additionally, every household will get $300 off their energy bill, which will help the household budget, but also over a million small businesses will be given cost-of-living relief through energy rebates. With this and the creation of better jobs and fairer wages across the country, the Albanese Labor government is standing up for Australians.

We've been talking about the fuel excise. The member for Fowler brought up the price of fuel. While I believe it's a bit rich for inner-city quasi Liberals to be raising this, I know it's an issue that affects my community, because we still have one of the highest rates of cars per household in the nation. Let's address the issues. Along with many others, Compare the Market's Chris Ford has attributed the rising fuel costs to the high price of crude oil. This is attributed to the conflict in the Middle East, higher wholesale prices from retailers and a weaker Australian dollar. But it's not predicted to stay that way for too long according to him. The member for Fowler argues that lowering the fuel excise, as the coalition temporarily did right before the election in 2022, is a solution. But, if you talk to the experts, like the head of the Australian Automobile Association, Michael Bradley, they warn against it. He said: 'As much as everyone doesn't like higher fuel prices and nobody likes paying tax, the fuel excise is a thing that enables governments to invest in the infrastructure we need. A short-term cut and a couple of cents will cause long-term pain. If we want the safe network that we need, if we want the efficient network we need, somebody has to pay for it. At the moment, it's the fuel excise that does that.' Money from the fuel excise goes directly towards fixing the state of our roads, something we in my community know the importance of all too well after nine years of funding starvation by the Liberal government, which took Victoria's road funding down to seven per cent of the nation's.

Getting from A to B, from work to the people you love, is important to this government. That's why in the budget we've committed $437 million of Commonwealth funding to the suburban road upgrades of south-eastern roads and northern roads. That includes funding a fair share of Yan Yean Road stage 2. The fuel excise cut only contributed to the appalling state of our roads because there was no money coming in to then go out to fix roads which were impacted heavily by things such as the wet winter we had. But the coalition thought they could fix roads with social media posts and unfunded promises. The fact is that you need to be able to fund roads with real money. You can't fill potholes with press releases.

We are committed to road safety. We are pragmatic. We care about getting Australians home safely to their loved ones. That's why we introduced the government's new vehicle efficiency standards. These will support a greater choice of fuel-efficient vehicles and lead to decreased fuel excise receipts of $470 million over the four years from 2024-25. There are many vehicles that are already meeting the standards. There are many vehicles today. You hear those opposite say, 'You can't get them.' That's absolute rubbish. If your vehicle runs AdBlue you're a 6. With the choice of electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles and hybrids we're giving a greater selection. But, more importantly, we're looking at more fuel-efficient vehicles. You can still have your weekend. You can still have your ute. You can still do your trade. Not everyone needs to have a little 1.1-litre car. But where you can and it's efficient and good for you to use, do it. Why not have a more fuel-efficient car? Instead of having those opposite sit there and play at culture wars amongst Australians, even though it was a policy that they were going to bring in, but, as with most, squibbed it at the last minute, why not actually look to how we can build a better nation? You do that by not following the lead of Russia, which is what they over there want to do.

We even had the Leader of the Opposition come to my electorate and raise the fear about using utes on the weekend. That's probably the reason why my primary vote went up. But I want to remind him and those opposite: it isn't about getting rid of the family ute. That is just absolute garbage. It's about stepping up and being in line with the rest of the world and having the opportunities they have. (Time expired)

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to very strongly support the member for Fowler on this motion. It's just a simple measure that puts $2,000 a year in the pockets of hardworking Australians. It's a very, very simple proposition. There's nothing sophisticated about it, and I wish we could see more of that in this place. Morris Iemma, the Premier of New South Wales, said, 'I will not go another day without addressing the issue of people dying that simply don't have to die.' With that, he introduced 6½ per cent ethanol content to rescue people's lives, and that is why every country on earth has done it.

Two countries on earth that haven't done it—the only two that I know of—are Australia and New Zealand. Did you know that they are the only countries that have a foreign monarch on their coins? In our case, it's a very unpleasant foreign monarch. Do we believe that all people are free and equal? Absolutely not.

Let me return to the price of petrol. The honourable member for Fowler is doing something about it. Morris Iemma, if he got his way, would move towards Brazil, where 49.2 per cent of the petrol is ethanol and they fill up for $1.09 a litre. That measure, plus the member for Fowler's measure, would put $3,500 in the pocket of every hardworking Australian.

We are talking about EVs. The Queensland government said they are very proud to say they are spending $62,000 million dollars on their new generation of electricity supply. Multiply that by the other states in Australia and you can see that you're not saving any money on electricity. Our electricity charges in Queensland were $700 when the government fell. On that basis, they should be around about $900 now, and, of course, they are around $4,000. That's what you've imposed—an extra $3,000 upon the electricity users—and you've got an opportunity to take $3,000 off, which is being precipitated today by the member for Fowler.

Don't you people sit down and think? We on the crossbenches have raised the issue of Woolworths and Coles and their 200 per cent mark-up on food. Electricity has got a 400 per cent mark-up, put on it by you people on both sides—not one side; both sides—of this house. Our motorcars are imported from overseas. The dollar dropped by half, so the price of a motorcar doubled in Australia. On housing prices, you set the regulatory impositions. Have you done anything to remove the regulatory impositions on subdivisions? No.

The word 'affordability' floats around this place like bulldust in a Bedourie dust storm I can tell you, but I see no practical benefits coming from all of this discussion on affordability, except that from the initiative of the member for Fowler. We applaud that initiative and we repeat that this country is sending $48,000 million a year overseas to buy petrol. We are sending $30,000 million overseas every year to buy motorcars.

When this country was run by decent people who cared and thought—and I still own a picture of Jack McEwan—he said that the most important thing for government was to get it right. Education is no replacement for hard work in getting it right. If there was the remotest effort or hard work here, you would address the issue of Woolworths and Coles, you would address the issue of electricity, you would address the issue of importing motorcars, and you would address the issue of house prices.

The government has announced that they're going to import EVs—not hybrids, which is what we need. No, they're going to import EVs—import! They're lowering the taxation on imported motor vehicles from China. What are we in the business of promoting? We're going to get our electricity from China. We're getting our motor vehicles from China. We're now going to replace our petrol and energy— (Time expired)

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion put by the member for Fowler. I completely understand the financial pressures that households and people under right now. I also understand the focus on petrol prices as a focus of financial pain. Fluctuating prices at the pump are a constant source of pain for motorists. I know that many people rely on their cars to get to work and that there are parts of our community that did the heavy lifting during the pandemic and need to drive significant kilometres to be able to provide important resources and essential services. People are driving their cars to get to work, to get the kids to school and to do the shopping, and often for many people there is no other choice and it's an essential tool. So I recognise that, when petrol prices rise, it affects household budgets.

In the last census, there was an average of 1.8 vehicles per household in Swan. I'm not one of those in Swan; since becoming a member of parliament, we've remained a one-car family. They say that one-third of vehicle trips is within two kilometres, and I see that people sometimes are trying to substitute their motor vehicle trips with alternative things, which might be walking, cycling or Ubers. There are different modes of transport that people can explore, but I recognise that this is something that's not possible for everyone. One of the things I was really grateful to do before the pandemic hit was buy a second-hand hybrid vehicle. That meant we got to travel more kilometres for less fuel. One of the things I'm very excited about is our vehicle efficiency standards, which are effectively about households being able to access cars where you can travel more kilometres for the same amount of fuel, which is very exciting. I also have a mate who has a horse. He's bought an electric vehicle that you can tow a trailer in. So there are alternative ways in which we can look at reducing fuel consumption for people.

I know that households are doing it tough and that people are being stung at the pump, and a lot of this relates to the war in Ukraine, but we're trying to mitigate the things that we do have control over. I also remind the member for Fowler that the Liberals ended the fuel excise reduction in 2022. In my mind, Labor has found a better way to deliver relief to households and is delivering measures that will give ease to every household. It's something that I've raised here.

It's also something that I'm acting upon in my community. As it happens, I'll be hosting my second forum in Swan this week and helping people with household budgets. This will be happening along with state minister and local member Hannah Beazley. The forum will have speakers that will provide advice on tax, Centrelink and financial planning. It's a one-stop shop for people to receive advice on what services are available to help them meet the cost-of-living pressures.

Also, across the board, this government is taking action to help people with easing the cost of living. It is our No. 1 priority: tax cuts for every taxpayer, 94,000 of them in my electorate of Swan; energy relief for every household, including 84,000 households in Swan; and wiping student debt, including for 22,000 students in Swan. We're also freezing the cost of PBS prescriptions for everyone. This is immediate, tangible and responsible cost-of-living relief for all Australians. Labor has found a better way to help households rather than looking at changing the fuel excise, and that's why I reject the motion.

We're not stuck in the past and looking at things I don't work; we're focused on the present and on solutions that will build a better future for Australia. I'm super excited about the new fuel efficiency standards, implemented by this government, which will provide greater choice for households. Australia and Russia were the only countries that didn't have standards on our fuel emissions for our vehicles. This is very exciting. In time, this will result in a reduction in fuel receipts of $470 million over the next four years. It's an innovative, responsible measure and it will help ease the cost of living, including for the people of Fowler. I encourage the member for Fowler to welcome those measures. I reject this motion.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.