❓ Mr. Hunter questions the Premier about fuel supply security in WA, citing shortages and theft. The Premier denies claiming no shortages exist, blaming panic buying for overwhelming supply chains and urging the opposition to avoid spreading panic.
AnsweredQoN 120Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Fuel supply—Security
120. Mr Lachlan Hunter to
the Premier:
The Premier has
repeatedly insisted that there is no fuel supply problem in Western Australia
and has instead blamed Western Australians themselves for panic buying. Truck
drivers are having diesel stolen while they sleep in their cab overnight,
farming operations are grinding to a halt and countless towns like Corrigin,
Goomalling, York, Quairading, Denmark, Wandering, Hopetoun, Gingin and Walpole
have run out of diesel.
The Speaker: It is okay, Leader of the House; I have
got this. Member, that was a very long prelude to the question. Please ask the
question.
Mr Lachlan Hunter: There are a lot of towns indeed.
Does the Premier
accept that public confidence in the security of fuel supply has been badly
damaged by the government's failure to be very honest about the situation?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Treasurer, I am calling you for
the first time. Member for Central Wheatbelt, I am calling you for the second
time. Do not have arguments across the chamber.
120. Mr Lachlan Hunter to
the Premier:
The Premier has
repeatedly insisted that there is no fuel supply problem in Western Australia
and has instead blamed Western Australians themselves for panic buying. Truck
drivers are having diesel stolen while they sleep in their cab overnight,
farming operations are grinding to a halt and countless towns like Corrigin,
Goomalling, York, Quairading, Denmark, Wandering, Hopetoun, Gingin and Walpole
have run out of diesel.
The Speaker: It is okay, Leader of the House; I have
got this. Member, that was a very long prelude to the question. Please ask the
question.
Mr Lachlan Hunter: There are a lot of towns indeed.
Does the Premier
accept that public confidence in the security of fuel supply has been badly
damaged by the government's failure to be very honest about the situation?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Treasurer, I am calling you for
the first time. Member for Central Wheatbelt, I am calling you for the second
time. Do not have arguments across the chamber.
AnswerView source ↗
First of all, Mr
Speaker, the member is wrong. The member is dead wrong. I have never said that
there are not fuel shortages in Western Australia. What I have said steadfastly
based on the advice is that there is no shortage of fuel coming to Australia
and to the state. As I have made clear, we see peaks in demand and purchases of
fuel at the moment, which means that the normal supply chains that would
anticipate a certain trajectory in demand have been overwhelmed by a particular
peak in demand. That peak in demand is being caused by people seeing widespread
military actions, death and war overseas. Those opposite might see this as a
political opportunity to try to spread extra panic and concern in the
community.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt.
Mr Rhys Williams interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Mandurah, thank you! Member
for Central Wheatbelt, if you continue to interject, you are not going to get
the supplementary.
Mr Roger Cook: I strongly urge the opposition to stop
this language of division and panic. We know that supplies will continue to
flow to communities. We know that those supplies are struggling at the moment
because of the peaks and troughs.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Leader of the Opposition! Please
do not interject.
Mr Roger Cook: We will hold our fuel security round table
this afternoon, and it will be tasked with two matters. The first is to
understand and hear about what people are experiencing today on the ground, so
we can make sure that we can respond to the immediate shortages as a result of
the peak in demand.
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, please do
not interrupt.
Mr Roger Cook: We will continue to talk with industry
leaders and stakeholders about what we will do for the future. How do we
coordinate ourselves to make sure that, in the event that we have a situation
where—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Member for Central Wheatbelt!
Mr Roger Cook: In the event that we do have supply-chain
constraints in the state, we will be in a position to respond to it as a
community. We will be making sure that industry can keep moving and that
communities can continue to get the fuel they need. We will work with industry
to make sure that is the case.
I think that the
opposition should listen to leaders such as Cam Dumesny, the CEO of the Western
Roads Federation, who said this morning that feeding the panic is not helping
the situation and that leaders need to—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: He said that feeding the panic is not
helping the situation and that leaders need to provide confident—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition, I am calling
you for the first time. I asked you to stop interjecting. Please do not
interject on the Premier.
Mr Roger Cook: I will repeat again. Mr Dumesny said
this morning that people should not be feeding the panic, that it is not
helping the situation and that leaders need to provide confidence that supply
remains available, which it does.
Ms Cassie Rowe interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Belmont, I am calling you for
the first time.
Speaker, the member is wrong. The member is dead wrong. I have never said that
there are not fuel shortages in Western Australia. What I have said steadfastly
based on the advice is that there is no shortage of fuel coming to Australia
and to the state. As I have made clear, we see peaks in demand and purchases of
fuel at the moment, which means that the normal supply chains that would
anticipate a certain trajectory in demand have been overwhelmed by a particular
peak in demand. That peak in demand is being caused by people seeing widespread
military actions, death and war overseas. Those opposite might see this as a
political opportunity to try to spread extra panic and concern in the
community.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt.
Mr Rhys Williams interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Mandurah, thank you! Member
for Central Wheatbelt, if you continue to interject, you are not going to get
the supplementary.
Mr Roger Cook: I strongly urge the opposition to stop
this language of division and panic. We know that supplies will continue to
flow to communities. We know that those supplies are struggling at the moment
because of the peaks and troughs.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Leader of the Opposition! Please
do not interject.
Mr Roger Cook: We will hold our fuel security round table
this afternoon, and it will be tasked with two matters. The first is to
understand and hear about what people are experiencing today on the ground, so
we can make sure that we can respond to the immediate shortages as a result of
the peak in demand.
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, please do
not interrupt.
Mr Roger Cook: We will continue to talk with industry
leaders and stakeholders about what we will do for the future. How do we
coordinate ourselves to make sure that, in the event that we have a situation
where—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Member for Central Wheatbelt!
Mr Roger Cook: In the event that we do have supply-chain
constraints in the state, we will be in a position to respond to it as a
community. We will be making sure that industry can keep moving and that
communities can continue to get the fuel they need. We will work with industry
to make sure that is the case.
I think that the
opposition should listen to leaders such as Cam Dumesny, the CEO of the Western
Roads Federation, who said this morning that feeding the panic is not helping
the situation and that leaders need to—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: He said that feeding the panic is not
helping the situation and that leaders need to provide confident—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition, I am calling
you for the first time. I asked you to stop interjecting. Please do not
interject on the Premier.
Mr Roger Cook: I will repeat again. Mr Dumesny said
this morning that people should not be feeding the panic, that it is not
helping the situation and that leaders need to provide confidence that supply
remains available, which it does.
Ms Cassie Rowe interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Belmont, I am calling you for
the first time.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.