Page 1422 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (5.41), in reply: Liquid fuel supply currently plays a crucial role in our community. Without it, many of the services essential to the safety and wellbeing of our community would be unable to function. I thank Mr Coe for his interest and support for this initiative.
This bill provides for effective management of a potential liquid fuel shortage and it requires us to be able to tailor our response to suit the particular circumstances of the event. Given the integrated nature of our liquid fuel supply network and our geographic location, the ACT also needs to be able to work cooperatively with other states and territories to manage liquid fuel emergencies.
We also need to be prepared to manage a potential long-term shortage of liquid fuel in a way that best protects the community and the economy. The ACT’s existing fuels emergency legislation, the Fuels Control Act 1979, does not currently provide for this. It was found that the current legislation does not fully allow the ACT to meet these requirements in the event of a liquid fuel shortage, and the Fuels Rationing Bill 2018 has been drafted to address this.
The passage of this bill will allow the ACT to work with other jurisdictions to protect the interests of consumers, to provide a reliable supply of fuel and to manage the safety and security of the fuel distribution chain. For fuel rationing measures to work people need to know when fuel restrictions are in effect and they need to know how to comply with them.
This bill includes provisions for an enacted fuel restriction to be communicated to all stakeholders. Notices will be given to the public by local television or radio, in the newspaper and by public notification. The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate must also inform fuel stations in writing of restrictions and fuel stations must display signage to inform the community that restrictions are in place.
The effective management of fuel also requires that people are compelled to comply with potential fuel restrictions, and this bill includes appropriate penalties for non-compliance, as well as many safeguards which make sure that people are adequately informed about their rights and responsibilities under the legislation and the possible consequences of their actions.
I take this moment to reassure the community that it is unlikely that the powers created by the bill will need to be enforced. The fuel industry has mechanisms in place to support ongoing fuel supply to the community and effectively manage common disruptions to fuel supplies. Fortunately, fuel restrictions have not been enforced in decades. Even if a fuel restriction scheme were to be implemented, it would be unlikely to reach the most severe stage.
This bill provides a framework to ensure that, in the unlikely event of a fuel shortage, fuel reserves can be effectively managed to allow services essential to the community’s safety and wellbeing to continue to function. The bill strikes the right balance between providing flexibility for the minister to respond to the circumstances
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