Debate: Real Time Fuel Pricing

8 Mar 2018 9:21 AMMichael Hart

Mr HART (Burleigh—LNP) (6.20 pm): It is also five minutes of my life I will never get back! I rise to support the Leader of the Opposition’s motion and to oppose the government’s amendment. Seventeen of the last 20 years have been Labor governments. For the last 28 years we have had 23 years of Labor governments. For those opposite to try to blame somebody else by shifting this motion to the federal government for a solution is just the utmost hypocrisy. Members opposite have a solution that the opposition has offered them. We have offered them a clear solution, a solution that has saved the people of New South Wales $111 million.

The RACQ tells us that, if we were to put in real-time fuel monitoring in Queensland, we would save the people of Queensland $40 million a year that they could spend elsewhere on creating jobs in this wonderful state. But, no, the Labor government will not accept this because it is not its idea and it would hate to see the LNP credited with its ideas. Instead, members opposite moved an amendment to the motion to get the federal government to do something. What might the federal government do? It may introduce this and we would end up with it anyway. Why will the Labor government in Queensland not offer a real solution here?

The member for Greenslopes said that we have a MotorMouth application here. That is great, we do, and it works okay, but it is not real-time monitoring. That is what this motion is about—offering the people of Queensland real-time monitoring. If for a few minutes ministers get out of their chauffeur-driven limousines, drive their cars, go to service stations and pay for their own petrol, they might know the difference in petrol prices. I drive around my electorate a fair bit and tend to go to one service station, Brian’s Auto in Miami on the way to my office, because they are pretty good. They always have reasonable prices.

Mr Stevens interjected.

Mr HART: I take the interjection from the member for Mermaid Beach. They always have reasonably priced fuel. But if I had an app that told me that if I drove past them and went to the next place and it was even cheaper again, I would absolutely do that because every dollar in my pocket is a dollar saved. This is a great idea for the people of Queensland. It is a solution.

For years and years, members of the Labor Party told us that they have thought about everything, have consulted and talked to people, but what solutions have they offered? They have not offered us any solution. What is Labor’s position here? Quite frankly, who would know, because they are flip-flopping all over the place. In question time last week, the Premier was asked a direct question by the member for Chatsworth—would she implement the LNP’s real-time fuel policy? What was her answer? It was, ‘No.’ One tends to think that is a pretty straightforward answer, but then a couple of hours later—

Ms Grace interjected.

Mr HART: I take that interjection from the Minister for Education, because obviously, no, it is not. Half an hour later the Deputy Premier almost endorsed it and then the Minister for Energy and the Minister for Transport apparently were consulting with the RACQ and ‘the RACQ think this is a good idea,’ but then they started to back away and ‘maybe this is something we need to think about.’ All of a sudden, ‘No.’ I make a prediction—in another six months suddenly this will become the Labor Party’s idea. They will bring it back to this parliament, pass it, put it in place and re-write history again, because they are very good at rewriting history. They have done it in how many other pieces of legislation? How many other times have they—

An honourable member interjected.

Mr HART: Tow trucks, there you go. They re-write history and pinch our ideas. They cannot even hand in their own homework.

Mr SPEAKER: The member’s time has expired.