Dr WEBSTER (Mallee) (12:04): What we have heard from the Labor Party for the last two weeks is that people should stop panic-buying. It's apparently Australia's fault that we don't have the fuel that we need. We should stop panic-buying. What we are actually seeing today is the Labor government, under Prime Minister Albanese, panic-legislating. That's what they're doing. They're panic-legislating because they have been left flat footed.

People in Australia are going through a cost-of-living crisis. They have had energy bills go through the roof. Inflation continues to rise. Interest rates on mortgages continue to rise. Rents continue to rise. And now we have trucks who cannot deliver and are at risk of folding their small businesses. This absolutely lies at the feet of the Albanese government. It is not Australia's fault that this is happening. It is not the panic buying that has caused this today.

Today I just got off the phone from one of the farmers. He happens to have a small fuel depot in Robinvale. He has just told me that he's talked to citrus growers in my electorate who are literally in the process of deciding whether they will take the fruit off the tree to deliver to market or not. We hear today that one in five farmers is making the decision not to sow a crop. What is this Labor government doing about it? Well, you know what? They're panic legislating, finally getting the ACCC to do their job, and they're allowing truckies to put their prices up according to the fuel they're paying for. Great! Guess what. There is a flow-on effect, Labor. Prime Minister Albanese needs to understand that, if people cannot afford their groceries and they cannot afford vegetables, they won't buy them. Guess what happens when Australians don't eat fresh vegetables and fruit. You know what. They get sick. So our health prices will also go up.

The amount of trouble that people in the regions have trying to get health services now—many of them are having to drive to get to those health services. I had a woman write to me this week who said that she cancelled her health appointment because she couldn't get fuel to put in her car to get to see her doctor. Great! Just fantastic—all under the Labor government. The Labor government need to stop blaming Australians, and they need to take responsibility. What we have now is a panicked government who is making last-minute decisions to throw in legislation, of course, in an omnibus fashion—always. 'Let's throw this in, and let's throw that in.' And, if we, the opposition, don't approve it, then it's all on us. You know what? The previous speaker just blamed the coalition for the mess that Australia is in. No, we will not accept that. This is absolutely Prime Minister Albanese's problem to fix.

As for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, where do I start? Last week—'No problem at all with supply.' Three days later, suddenly we've got a fuel crisis. Did we see that coming? If only somebody had told him! So now we are trying to mop up the mess that Labor have created. I don't think that we can overestimate the poor decision-making and the poor processes that this government have put in place. They are late to come to the table, late to call the meetings—they're pretty fond of meetings; I've got to say. They love having the roundtable to have the discussions. What decisions are being made? 'Oh, we'd better rush and make some legislation that looks like we're doing something.'

Australians are going to wear the cost of the failures of this government into the future. Who knows how long into the future? I am deeply worried about farmers who are choosing not to pick fruit, farmers who will not grow crops. Everyday Australians and families trying to put food on their table will be wearing the cost of the incompetence of this government.

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