To Australians watching, thank you for your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fuel crisis we face began about five weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Australians deserve two things in this difficult period:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You deserve clarity and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regrettably, both have been absent from our government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initially, the government denied there was a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, after admitting there was a problem, it failed to act with urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only thing the government has fuelled is confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, the government deserves credit for adopting the Coalition\u2019s policy to slash the fuel tax \u2013 even if it did so belatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in a crisis, Australians deserve a government that\u2019s transparent and gives you the facts every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, it\u2019s taken persistent Coalition questioning in parliament for this government to release any information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It must stop being led \u2013 and start leading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it must come clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About how many oil shipments are coming into the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About our fuel stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the number of empty servos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially now that Western Australia has declared a state of emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The risk ahead of us is a patchwork of different rules across the country that leave Australians uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t want to see heavy-handed mandates that restrict people\u2019s freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And governments must be honest with us about taking any such steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last night, when the Prime Minister addressed the nation, Australians were expecting answers and details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They received neither.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the Prime Minister, I\u2019m not going to talk down to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost all Australians will do the right and responsible things in this crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re a compassionate people with mateship at our core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And whilst there is uncertainty, I\u2019m certain about what we must do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Urgent action is needed to protect our way of life \u2013 and to restore our standard of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That requires leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m calling on the Prime Minister to do three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, he must outline how he is going to get fuel to where it\u2019s needed in the short term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, the Prime Minister must develop a proper longer-term plan \u2013 so Australia never finds itself in this position again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must unlock the full potential of our natural resources \u2013 by fast-tracking exploration and projects across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must dig, and we must drill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need more Australian oil for Australians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have the resources beneath our feet to secure our future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, the Prime Minister and Treasurer must use the upcoming budget not just to respond to this crisis, but to set our country up for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bigger task ahead is to rebuild an economy that\u2019s resilient, competitive, and capable of delivering rising living standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I say to Australians:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Decline is not inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damage is not irreparable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With courageous leadership, we can protect our way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With strong leadership, we can restore our standard of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with inspired leadership, we can rediscover confidence in ourselves \u2013 at a time when we must look after ourselves and put Australia first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because Australia is worth fighting for, now more than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To Australians watching, thank you for your time. The fuel crisis we face began about five weeks ago. And Australians deserve two things in this difficult period: You deserve clarity and leadership. Regrettably, both have been absent from our government. Initially, the government denied there was a crisis. Then, after admitting there was a problem, … Continue reading “Leader of the Opposition\u2019s Address to the Nation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38342,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38341\/revisions\/38342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}