Libs accused of fuelling culture wars, as APY diesel nears $4 per litre
Drivers in the state’s north are facing skyrocketing diesel prices, as a clash between fuel plans and “culture wars” erupted in SA parliament’s first day back.
Drivers in the state’s north are facing diesel prices of $3.90 per litre in an area the Deputy Premier said was entirely reliant on diesel. This compared to a price in Adelaide of around $2.39 a litre.
One federal MP says stores in the region were also facing 58 per cent freight price hikes and it was “not good enough” talking about support months after fuel prices surged when it impacted some of the state’s most vulnerable people.
It comes as the SA Liberals dominated the first question time of the upper house with fuel questions and intend to introduce legislation today to repeal the state’s Voice to Parliament.
Deputy Premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher told the upper house all energy generators in the APY Lands were run on diesel, but said there was “no shortage” and it was “very closely monitored”.
When asked by the Liberal’s Michelle Lensink if the SA Voice had made any representations to the government on this issue, Maher said “not yet” but that the Voice members were meeting in the coming weeks.
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“In relation to effects and impacts in the APY lands, it is something I have certainly taken a very close interest in,” Maher said.
“All ministers for Aboriginal affairs around Australia, including Senator Malandirri McCarthy, the federal minister, have been meeting regularly to discuss the impacts, particularly on remote and regional Aboriginal communities.”
Maher added today that he receives “regular updates from Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation which attends weekly fuel security coordination meetings with APY service providers and other government agencies, including the federal government”.
Mai Wiru, an Indigenous not-for-profit that runs four of the six stores across the APY Lands, have fuel at $3.90 per litre, and today Federal Liberal SA Senator Kerrynne Liddle said its regional stores are facing freight hikes of 58 per cent.
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Liddle has raised fuel access and support for supermarkets and essential services across APY Lands in federal parliament earlier this year, and said it was “absurd” that there was no targeted support for the region.
“You’ve got the state’s most vulnerable people struggling, and talking about it two months later is not good enough,” Liddle said.
“Labor at the state and federal level have got their hands on all the levers, to say eight weeks later that you’re ‘taking an interest’ is absurd.”
The SA Liberals have been pushing for a diesel reserve as a back-up if fuel conditions worsen, and SA Liberal Leader Ashton Hurn said, “it might be day one of parliament, but for weeks we’ve been calling on the government to adopt our plan”.
But Deputy Premier Kyam Maher fired back at the Liberals saying while his party was “concentrating on the fuel crisis; that side is all about the culture wars”.
In response to a question about what fuel rationing could look like, Maher said the fuel crisis “is something we take very, very seriously”.
“While we are introducing legislation about the fuel crisis into this parliament, the other side’s first priority legislatively is perpetrating culture wars by a bill to remove the Voice.”
Multiple Liberal members interjected in response. The bill to repeal the state Voice to Parliament will be introduced to the upper house later today.
On Wednesday morning, the federal government announced a $10 billion package to expand fuel reserves, including diesel.
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