00:01It's become a real theme of Question Time this week in that Energy Minister Chris Bowen
00:07has provided an update on what the states have told him in regards to service stations
00:12without fuel.
00:13Today we heard that in New South Wales there are 178 with no diesel, Queensland has 55
00:19with no diesel, Victoria 72 with no diesel and in WA 40 with no diesel.
00:26There's a full breakdown of those service stations without fuel at the moment on the
00:32website.
00:32But if we add all of those figures together that the Energy Minister Chris Bowen provided
00:37during Question Time today, we can work out that there are at least 520 fuel stations without
00:44at least one kind of fuel in Australia right now.
00:48Chris Bowen also took the chance during Question Time today to point out that he has spoken
00:53with Australia's largest transport fuel supplier Ampol who provided him with an update on year
01:00on year supplies to independent distributors in parts of regional Australia.
01:05Take a listen to what Energy Minister Chris Bowen had to say.
01:09For example, March this year compared to March last year, 40 per cent higher to independent
01:16suppliers in regional New South Wales, 33 per cent higher in regional Queensland, 66 per cent
01:22higher in South Australia, 22 per cent higher in Tasmania, 19 per cent higher in Victoria and
01:2964 per cent higher in Western Australia.
01:31That's Ampol's supplies to independent distributors.
01:35Energy Minister Chris Bowen there.
01:37And throughout Question Time today, Jo, we saw a real theme from both he and the Prime Minister,
01:42Anthony Albanese, urging Australians not to panic by saying that the government is taking
01:48responsibility and taking action.
01:51But it will be hard, I think, for the public to absorb that kind of messaging where in the last
01:59hour
01:59or so we've seen fresh data from the National Roads and Motorists Association saying that the national
02:05average for unleaded petrol is now up to $2.56 a litre, while the national average for diesel is now
02:13around $3.14 a litre.
02:15And Lexi, on another subject, what's happening with the discussion around the minimum wage?
02:21Yeah, well, Jo, the Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth and indeed Treasurer Jim Chalmers have
02:26written to the Fair Work Commission asking for an increase to the minimum and award wage for
02:33low-paid workers. They want the real increase to what is currently $948 per full-time week.
02:43The government has said that this rise should be economically sustainable and it shouldn't fuel
02:48inflation. A short time ago, we saw Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth appear on afternoon
02:54briefing with Patricia Carvellis, who asked the Minister to nominate a figure of what they'd like to see.
03:01If the rate is 5% by July, that means if you want workers to go forward, it has to
03:09be higher than 5%.
03:11Well, that is not how the Commission looks at only one data point of inflation. It also projects over
03:18the period of time in which the wage increase will actually be rolled out. So there's a range of
03:25different inflation measures that it will look at. It doesn't just look at the month that's just been.
03:30Jo, the Fair Work Commission will make its decision in July.
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