Liberal Senate Leader Michaelia Cash has hit back at the Prime Minister after he accused Australians of panic buying fuel, saying everyday motorists deserve understanding, not blame.
Anthony Albanese criticised fuel panic buying on Saturday as ‘not the Australian way’, as jerry cans flew off shelves and drivers were seen filling containers at the bowser, as fuel shortages escalate across the nation, leaving service stations dry.
‘People need to take what they need and no more,’ Albanese said.
But Cash said the government’s message had failed to reach ordinary Australians, because it contradicted what they were seeing firsthand.
‘[Motorists and farmers] are turning up to the bowsers and what they are seeing with their own eyes is fundamentally different to what the government is saying,’ Cash told Sky News Sunday.
‘So yes, you do top up that extra time when you have lost confidence in your government.’
She accused the Albanese of sending mixed and damaging messages by reassuring Australians there was ‘no crisis’ before turning around and blaming them for responding to uncertainty and rising prices.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Albanese have repeatedly argued fuel shortages were driven by demand, particularly in regional areas.
Michaelia Cash (pictured) said the government’s messaging over fuel was confusing drivers
‘Despite stable national supply, global price pressures and a doubling in demand has seen parts of Australia’s regional fuel market come under significant strain,’ Bowen said on Saturday.
‘This has had an unacceptable impact on regional customers who source their fuel this way, including farmers.’
But Cash said the explanation only deepened confusion.
‘They are being told by the government: A, there was no crisis; B, Australians were then to blame; and C, consistently there is no supply issue,’ she said.
Australians stocking up on fuel reflected a failure of government, she argued, not poor behaviour by motorists.
‘The only people that can restore confidence are the government themselves,’ Cash said.
Despite repeated assurances from the Prime Minister that Australia is not facing a fuel supply issue, Cash said those claims only underlined Labor’s inability to manage prices or ensure fuel reached those who most needed it, particularly in regional Australia.
‘I have to take the government at their word, they are the ones with the detailed information in relation to how much fuel is in the country,’ she said.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) on Saturday said panic buying was ‘not the Australian way’
‘But I go back to what the government is telling Australians: ‘supply is not an issue.’
‘If supply is not an issue, the government is fundamentally failing Australians on the ground by not ensuring that the fuel is getting to where it needs to be.’
Senator Cash also slammed Labor for sending contradictory messages on fuel availability.
‘The government has again confirmed that supply is not an issue in Australia. As they’ve said for the last four weeks, there is more fuel circulating now than there was before the war commenced,’ she said.
‘But hang on, how does that square with the fact that more than 600 fuel stations across Australia have now run dry?’
She called on Bowen to act immediately.
‘Minister Bowen needs to pick up the phone, call the fuel companies, you now know where those 600 empty servos are, and tell them to move the fuel to where it’s needed,’ she said.
Cash also reaffirmed the Coalition’s call to halve the fuel excise, arguing it would deliver immediate relief to struggling households and businesses.
Michaelia Cash reaffirmed calls for the Opposition to temporarily half the fuel excise (stock image)
‘So our message to the government is very simple,’ she said.
‘Slash the fuel excise, and move the fuel.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with state and territory leaders on Monday to discuss further responses to the crisis
It comes as Tasmania and Victoria announced free public transport to get drivers off the roads and reduce fuel use.
