❓ Question regarding fuel supply concerns in regional WA, with the Premier defending the government's response and accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation and creating panic.
AnsweredQoN 136Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Fuel supply—Premier's comments
136. Mr Lachlan Hunter to
the Premier:
The answer to the
third one does not make sense.
I have a
supplementary question. Does the Premier accept that dismissing the concerns
raised by regional communities and members of the Western Australian public
only increases uncertainty and anxiety?
136. Mr Lachlan Hunter to
the Premier:
The answer to the
third one does not make sense.
I have a
supplementary question. Does the Premier accept that dismissing the concerns
raised by regional communities and members of the Western Australian public
only increases uncertainty and anxiety?
AnswerView source ↗
Just repeating the
premise regardless of how false it was in the first question does not make it
any truer in the second. We never dismiss the concerns—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members of the opposition, you have asked
the question. Listen to the response.
Mr Roger Cook: We have never dismissed the concerns in
the community and the disruptions that we saw as a result of—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, member for
Central Wheatbelt, you have asked the question. You may not like the response,
but you need to listen to the response.
Mr Roger Cook: We never dismissed the concerns of the
people in the community.
Mr Liam Staltari interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Carine!
Mr Roger Cook: We never dismissed the concerns of the
people in the community; we never dismissed the issue that as a result of the
peak in consumption, there were supply chain shortages.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, please stop
interjecting.
Mr Roger Cook: These issues were responded to
immediately. In the course of this week we convened our fuel security round
table, we worked with the industry to understand what was going on on the
ground, we are addressing—
Mr Shane Love: You denied there's a problem.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, I have
asked you to stop interjecting. I am going to call you for the first time.
Mr Roger Cook: The
interjection from the Leader of the National Party is a really important point.
At no stage did we say there were not disruptions to supply chains. What we
said is that the national and state—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, do not
interject, please.
Mr Roger Cook: What we said is that there was no
disruption to the national and state availability of supply of fuel. What we
were experiencing were localised shortages as a result of peak in demand and
consumption. That is the truth of the situation.
Several members
interjected.
Mr Roger Cook: That is the truth of the situation.
That is what has been reported in the media—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, please stop
your interjections. Leader of the National Party, please do not interject
either.
Mr Roger Cook: That is what was reported in the media;
that was what was reported to me by the people on the ground yesterday in our
fuel security round table. They said the problem was people were basically
sucking all the fuel out of their local service station and, as a result of
that, others in that community could not get fuel supplies. That is what was
going on.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt—
Ms Cassie Rowe interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Belmont! Member for Central
Wheatbelt, I am calling you for continual interjection. Please stop.
Mr Roger Cook: This reminds me—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, I am
calling you for the second time.
Mr Roger Cook: This reminds me of other circumstances
we have come to in this place—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Leader! Member for Central Wheatbelt do
not push it.
Mr Roger Cook: —when we have had international
issues that are disrupting our community and our economy. Back then, there was
a similar noise coming from the opposition. They criticised us around all the
measures we made during the COVID pandemic, they called for the borders to be
thrown open, they spread lies—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: They spread lies in our community.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Premier. We are not going to do
this again. Either you stop your interjections, everyone, or I will finish
question time.
Mr Roger Cook: They spread lies. They created panic in
the community. They undermined the unity of purpose and the work that everyone
was doing together—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party! I am
calling you for the third time.
Mr Roger Cook: —to defeat the COVID pandemic,
another international issue that was impacting our community. We are here
again. At the moment, overseas, there is an international conflict that is
threatening our very way of life.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, I am
calling you for the third time.
Mr Roger Cook: It is threatening our very way of life
by the constraints and the disruptions to our global oil supply chains. People
in the community are coming together to work out how we meet those challenges.
They are working together to understand what those challenges are and how we
can get through them. Once again, there is a group
in the community that is trying to undermine those efforts that have been
brought to bear by industry, government, stakeholders and industry
representatives. There is one group that is always trying to undermine our
efforts in relation to dealing with these international issues of disruption,
challenge, supply chain constraint and, quite frankly, a threat to our economy.
I just ask those opposite to please get on the right side of history for a
change. Get on the right side of history.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Thank you.
Mr Roger Cook: What was explained to me yesterday from
members of the industry is they are tired of the communications around fear and
panic that they have seen in the community. What they have said to me is that
we should be providing a clear signal to the community about reassurance around
those supply chain issues, to make sure that we can respond as one, as a
community, and be successful in meeting this challenge in the same way that we
were successful in meeting the challenges of COVID-19. But once again, we see
one group in the community trying to undermine those efforts, and they should
stop it.
premise regardless of how false it was in the first question does not make it
any truer in the second. We never dismiss the concerns—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members of the opposition, you have asked
the question. Listen to the response.
Mr Roger Cook: We have never dismissed the concerns in
the community and the disruptions that we saw as a result of—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, member for
Central Wheatbelt, you have asked the question. You may not like the response,
but you need to listen to the response.
Mr Roger Cook: We never dismissed the concerns of the
people in the community.
Mr Liam Staltari interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Carine!
Mr Roger Cook: We never dismissed the concerns of the
people in the community; we never dismissed the issue that as a result of the
peak in consumption, there were supply chain shortages.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, please stop
interjecting.
Mr Roger Cook: These issues were responded to
immediately. In the course of this week we convened our fuel security round
table, we worked with the industry to understand what was going on on the
ground, we are addressing—
Mr Shane Love: You denied there's a problem.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, I have
asked you to stop interjecting. I am going to call you for the first time.
Mr Roger Cook: The
interjection from the Leader of the National Party is a really important point.
At no stage did we say there were not disruptions to supply chains. What we
said is that the national and state—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, do not
interject, please.
Mr Roger Cook: What we said is that there was no
disruption to the national and state availability of supply of fuel. What we
were experiencing were localised shortages as a result of peak in demand and
consumption. That is the truth of the situation.
Several members
interjected.
Mr Roger Cook: That is the truth of the situation.
That is what has been reported in the media—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, please stop
your interjections. Leader of the National Party, please do not interject
either.
Mr Roger Cook: That is what was reported in the media;
that was what was reported to me by the people on the ground yesterday in our
fuel security round table. They said the problem was people were basically
sucking all the fuel out of their local service station and, as a result of
that, others in that community could not get fuel supplies. That is what was
going on.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt—
Ms Cassie Rowe interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Belmont! Member for Central
Wheatbelt, I am calling you for continual interjection. Please stop.
Mr Roger Cook: This reminds me—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party, I am
calling you for the second time.
Mr Roger Cook: This reminds me of other circumstances
we have come to in this place—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Leader! Member for Central Wheatbelt do
not push it.
Mr Roger Cook: —when we have had international
issues that are disrupting our community and our economy. Back then, there was
a similar noise coming from the opposition. They criticised us around all the
measures we made during the COVID pandemic, they called for the borders to be
thrown open, they spread lies—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Roger Cook: They spread lies in our community.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Premier. We are not going to do
this again. Either you stop your interjections, everyone, or I will finish
question time.
Mr Roger Cook: They spread lies. They created panic in
the community. They undermined the unity of purpose and the work that everyone
was doing together—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the National Party! I am
calling you for the third time.
Mr Roger Cook: —to defeat the COVID pandemic,
another international issue that was impacting our community. We are here
again. At the moment, overseas, there is an international conflict that is
threatening our very way of life.
Mr Lachlan Hunter interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Central Wheatbelt, I am
calling you for the third time.
Mr Roger Cook: It is threatening our very way of life
by the constraints and the disruptions to our global oil supply chains. People
in the community are coming together to work out how we meet those challenges.
They are working together to understand what those challenges are and how we
can get through them. Once again, there is a group
in the community that is trying to undermine those efforts that have been
brought to bear by industry, government, stakeholders and industry
representatives. There is one group that is always trying to undermine our
efforts in relation to dealing with these international issues of disruption,
challenge, supply chain constraint and, quite frankly, a threat to our economy.
I just ask those opposite to please get on the right side of history for a
change. Get on the right side of history.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Thank you.
Mr Roger Cook: What was explained to me yesterday from
members of the industry is they are tired of the communications around fear and
panic that they have seen in the community. What they have said to me is that
we should be providing a clear signal to the community about reassurance around
those supply chain issues, to make sure that we can respond as one, as a
community, and be successful in meeting this challenge in the same way that we
were successful in meeting the challenges of COVID-19. But once again, we see
one group in the community trying to undermine those efforts, and they should
stop it.
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