‘We need honesty’: Pauline Hanson shares stark warning to the Anthony Albanese government amid fuel crisis
Pauline Hanson has demanded the Albanese government invoke emergency powers and roll out temporary rationing as Australia’s fuel crisis spirals out of control.
The One Nation leader called for the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act to be activated, with metropolitan areas the first to be hit by restrictions.
‘When people in the cities can still get buses and trains, the priority must be ensuring food and farming supplies keep moving,’ Hanson said on Wednesday.
She said distributors in rural areas were already struggling to meet basic daily needs, adding ‘this is not fear-mongering’.
According to Hanson, some operators now faced impossible choices.
‘Deliver to councils or deliver to local communities, but not both,’ she said.
‘We’re getting calls from distributors who simply can’t get enough fuel. Food won’t be delivered. Machinery can’t run. Farmers can’t plant. Communities will go under.’
Hanson also questioned why prices continued rising if, as the government claims, supplies are already on Australian soil.
Pauline Hanson (pictured) called for the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act to be activated
Backing Hanson’s concerns, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said the government had ignored repeated industry warnings about collapsing regional fuel networks.
He argued that new penalties introduced by the Albanese government for anti-competitive behaviour were ‘meaningless’ to global corporations.
‘To BP, these fines are a business expense,’ Joyce said.
‘The independents have been clear, the current penalties do not deter anyone. The government needs to listen to the people who actually supply country areas.’
Hanson blasted both major parties for neglecting Australia’s long-term fuel security.
‘We’re meant to have 90 days of fuel under international agreements. We don’t. Japan has 200 days,’ she said.
‘We used to have up to a dozen refineries, now we have two.’
Hanson also ridiculed suggestions Australians should work from home to save fuel.
Pauline Hanson has demanded the Albanese government invoke emergency powers and roll out temporary rationing as Australia’s fuel crisis spirals out of control
Barnaby Joyce (right) said that the government’s new fines did not deter big fuel companies
‘How does a truck driver work from home? How does an abattoir worker take a carcass back to their living room? It’s absurd,’ she said.
She claimed many small distributors are on the brink of collapse due to soaring tanker costs, shrinking credit from fuel companies and volatile wholesale prices.
The One Nation leader urged the government to consider underwriting independent operators to prevent regional supply from breaking down.
She accused Energy Minister Chris Bowen of withholding vital information about fuel availability and shipments, while fuel companies were ‘gouging motorists with prices above $3 a litre despite official assurances of adequate stock’.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Bowen confirmed widespread shortages, but insisted the situation had eased since Tuesday in some areas.
In New South Wales, 187 stations were out of diesel and 32 had no stock at all.
Queensland had 55 bowsers empty, Victoria 134 with shortages, South Australia 49 affected, Western Australia 10 outages, and Tasmania one station without diesel.
Despite mounting pressure, Bowen insisted rationing remained ‘the absolute worst-case’ scenario and ‘not on the agenda’.
He also ruled out purchase caps – such as limiting sales to $40 a day.
But Hanson said the government was ‘sugar-coating the truth’.
‘We need honesty from this government, and we need action, now,’ she said.
