3h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 6:46am
That’s the end of our live blog!
And that’s where we’ll have to leave our federal politics live coverage for today. Thank you for joining us!
You can look back on today’s developments, below, or download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest updates.
We’ll see you again tomorrow morning for more federal politics news.
3h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 6:35am
Beef and lamb exporters label EU free trade agreement ‘simply appalling’
Farmers are calling Australia’s freshly minted deal with the European Union the “worst ever free trade agreement”, and warn it will disadvantage exporters to the EU for “decades to come”.
The agreement was released today after eight years of protracted negotiations and welcomed by some industry groups, which said it would provide a boost as global trade remained under intense pressure.
But the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) said the deal would leave farmers without meaningful access to the EU market.
“What the Australian government has accepted today appears to offer no material change for key agricultural commodities as what the government rightly rejected in October 2023,” NFF president Hamish McIntyre said.
“We are concerned the EU has offered sub-par access for Australian producers while potentially needing to deploy billion-dollar subsidies to get their producers to accept the deal.”
3h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 6:25am
Cattle Australia not a fan of EU trade deal
Cattle Australia has accused the government of rolling over and selling out Australian producers in the trade pact struck today.
“The deal that has been struck is simply appalling for agriculture and regional Australia and delivers nothing to address the trade imbalance to the EU,” chair Garry Edwards said in a statement.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to balance trade between the EU and Australia that has been thrown away. Instead our trade minister has rolled over and sold Australia out.
“No deal was much better than this deal.”
3h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 6:19am
King says renewables play a part in ensuring Australia’s fuel security
Resources Minister Madeleine King has been asked whether wars around the world give fossil fuels a lifeline for securing energy security.
Speaking to Afternoon Briefing, the resources minister says that’s not necessarily the case and that renewable energy is equally important for shoring up energy security.
She says the drive to net zero plays a role in ensuring Australia’s fuel security.
“In Australia, we’re very fortunate that part of our fuel security is renewables,” King says.
“You can’t bomb the sun right? So that has to stay as part of our mix and if we’ve got wind turbines producing power in Australia based on the wind, well that’s it’s own security,” she says.
And that’s the end of Afternoon Briefing for today!
4h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 6:11am
Resources minister says Australia-EU FTA will give larger access to businesses
Resources Minister Madeleine King has rejected criticism the Australia-EU free trade agreement isn’t fair for the agriculture sector.
King says the agreement gives much bigger beef access to the European Union market than there previously has been.
“It’s a very good deal for a number of producers who were very worried about losing their rights to use certain terms like feta or prosecco,” King says.
“For many it’s very important what we’ve protected. We have though also opened up the market to a lot of our agricultural industry,” she says.
4h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:54amBragg pushes back on Hastie openness to reviewing tax concessions on houses
Shadow Productivity Minister Andrew Bragg has pushed back on Andrew Hastie’s openness to reviewing the tax settings around housing.
Yesterday, Hastie signalled he was open to reviewing the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing to address housing affordability.
Shadow Industry Minister Hastie said the Liberal Party may become extinct if it was not responsive to concerns around housing.
But Bragg says he doesn’t agree with his frontbench colleague’s suggestion, saying taxing people more won’t help young people.
“The inference that higher taxes is going to help younger people is what I take umbrage at. I don’t think that works,” Bragg says.
“I’d say the biggest issue is building houses. I mean the government have spent almost $80 billion to build fewer homes so we need to build the homes.
“I don’t think the idea that more taxes is going to build more houses,” he says.
4h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:44am
Andrew Bragg questions whether trade minister consulted industry on details of FTA
Afternoon Briefing has started a little later today because Question Time started and finished later than normal.
Shadow Productivity Minister Andrew Bragg has joined the program and says he’s been asked about the Australia-EU free trade agreement.
He’s questioned whether Trade Minister Don Farrell consulted with the agricultural industry ahead of finalising the agreement.
The National Farmers’ Federation says the agreement hasn’t given farmers “meaningful agricultural market access” in Europe.
“I would have hoped that those stakeholders would have been key and that Don Farrell was talking to them. I’m worried Don Farrell was worried about the expansion of parliament rather than doing the detail,” Bragg says.
4h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:28am
📷 Today’s Question Time in pictures
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:11am
And that’s all for QT today folks
We’re jumping straight into our coverage of ABC’s Afternoon Briefing now.
Let’s go!!!!!!
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:09am
Treasurer again shoots down cut to fuel excise
Independent MP Dai Le has asked why the government won’t halve the fuel excise to ease the price of fuel for Australians.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has referred the member to his answer from Rebekha Sharkie’s question on the same issue.
He’s used the opportunity to list the federal government’s cost of living measures, including tax cuts and Medicare urgent care clinics.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 5:07am
Bowen says Coalition are ‘not serious people’
Alright, we have a bit of a NSW parliamentary flavour today as Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh makes reference to a remark NSW Premier Chris Minns made in his own QT earlier.
Minns had told the state parliament that if fuel demand management (such as rationing) is required, it should be a nationally consistent approach.
Bowen says McIntosh must have missed his previous answer, where he said the states and federal government had agreed to work together.
“This question really goes to the approach of the opposition here … fear mongering and misinformation, that’s the opposition’s approach,” he says.
Manager of Opposition Business Dan Tehan looks to Speaker Milton Dick to make a ruling on this one. And for once he agrees with him and tells Bowen to stop talking about the opposition.
He continues:
“This government will continue to work constructively with state governments … because that is what sensible, adult governments do. That is what serious people do. Non-serious people play politics and international crisis.”
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:58am
Independent MP accuses govt of not acting on gambling report
Independent MP Kate Chaney has asked why the government hasn’t responded to former Labor MP Peta Murphy’s ‘You win some, you lose more’ gambling advertising report.
The report was handed down in September 2022 and recomended the government implement a total ban on gambling advertising.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled the member’s question “factually wrong”.
Albanese hasn’t said when the government will respond to the report, which was handed down over three years ago.
He says the government has introduced laws to prevent gambling companies from claiming the research development tax incentive, among other actions.
“I will continue to engage across the important issue and will continue to report back to the parliament on this issue,” Albanese says.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:51am
Bowen bats off question about fuel rationing
It’s back to the future for Leon Rebello, who again asks if the government has been asked to prepare a fuel rationing plan.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen keeps it brief.
“I refer the honorable gentleman to my previous answer,” he says.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:50am
Bowen doesn’t plan on using act that gives minister power to declare fuel emergency
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has asked the energy minister whether he will use his authority to secure supplies of bunker fuel, given Tasmania relies on shipped goods.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says bunker fuel, used for marine cargo ships, is not included in Australia’s minimum stockholdings.
The energy minister says he does have powers to invoke the Liquid Emergency Act, which would allow the minister to declare a national fuel emergency.
But it seems he doesn’t plan on using it.
“It has never been invoked in the last 40 years, not through the crises and not through COVID or at any other time,” Bowen says.
“It is there to be invoked if necessary, but I am not envisaging at this point that and the measures I referred to invoking that act,” he says.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:43am
Have the states asked the federal government to prepare fuel rationing plan?
That’s the question put by first-term Liberal MP Tom Venning to Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
Bowen responds by saying it’s no secret that he met with his state and territory counterparts last week and quotes part of the communique that refers to ministers vowing to “work together to respond as the situation evolves”.
He doesn’t last long before Manager of Opposition Business Dan Tehan is up on his feet, claiming Bowen isn’t being relevant.
Speaker Milton Dick says he’s being relevant but Tehan argues otherwise. Leader of the House Tony Burke pops up and suggests that if the opposition wants a direct question they shouldn’t make mention of a newspaper article in the preamble because it opens up the response someone could give.
Bowen continues:
“Just as in COVID, where the Morrison government worked with states, the Albanese government is working with states on contingency planning on all the measures.
The difference now … is that during COVID, the Morrison government had an opposition which was constructive.”
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:32am
Bowen accuses Coalition of partisanship on fuel supplies
Nationals frontbencher Michael McCormack has asked the energy minister to detail what his plan is to get fuel flowing to regional Australia.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he’s released 20 per cent of the country’s national fuel emergency stockpile and lowered fuel standards to get more fuel into the market.
“We will work every day with refiners, with suppliers to ensure that that fuel flows to where there are real shortages,” Bowen says.
Dan Tehan has stepped in on a point of order on relevance, but Speaker Milton Dick has instead asked Coalition members not to interject.
Bowen has accused the opposition of not offering up a “single constructive suggestion”.
Tehan has stepped up on another point of order, but he’s been asked to resume his seat by the speaker, and warned he can’t step up on another point of order.
The energy minister says some members of the opposition have chosen partisanship and says they should “hang their heads in shame”.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:29am
An update on fuel shortages across the country
Wowza. Another day of repeated interjections from Liberal frontbencher Tony Pasin has led to Speaker Milton Dick giving him the boot.
He was originally ordered to sit out for two hours but Dick bumped it up to three hours after the Barker MP continued his commentary on the way out.
Liberal MP Rick Wilson has the next question. He asks for an update on how many service stations in each state and territory are currently without fuel.
There are 164 without diesel and 289 without one type of fuel in NSW There are 55 stations without diesel and 35 without regular unleaded in Queensland There are 162 service stations without one or more fuels in Victoria In South Australia there are 46 without one or more grades of fuelSix petrol stations have no stock in Western Australia Down in Tasmania, there is just one service station without diesel and six without unleaded There are no shortages in Northern Territory as a result of fuel supply, but Bowen says there are issues in relation to flooding and road access No shortages in the ACT.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:20am
Government not considering suspending fuel excise, treasurer says
Independent MP Rebekha Sharkie is up next, asking whether the federal government will suspend the fuel excise amid the surge in fuel prices.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says freezing the excise is not something the government is considering, and has pointed to other areas the government has taken to address cost-of-living concerns.
He says the government is working to secure supply in regional parts of Australia that are experiencing shortages and ensure the consumer watchdog has the powers to crack down on price gouging.
“In fuel markets more broadly, we are working closely and as a team to make sure that there is supply [for] people particularly in regional areas, and to make sure the ACCC [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission] is empowered to go after any suppliers or retailers,” Chalmers says.
“For our part we are providing cost-of-living relief. We are working hard in the markets to recognise and respond to the pressures that Australians are facing,” he says.
One member of the opposition benches can be heard saying, “It’s not working Jim” during the treasurer’s response.
5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:16am
Bowen keeping it short and sweet
Manager of Opposition Business Dan Tehan makes his way over to the despatch box next.
He asks when the government will introduce legislation to allow the competition watchdog to increase penalties to stop fuel price gouging.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen keeps it short and sweet.
“Tomorrow,” he responds.
(ABC News: Matt Roberts)5h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 4:13amGovernment to lower diesel standards in bid to increase supply options
An adjustment to diesel standards has been confirmed by the government in a bid to bring more fuel into the domestic market.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed a six-month adjustment to lower what’s known as the flashpoint for diesel down from 61.5 degrees to 60.5 degrees Celsius.
The government says it will increase the diesel supply options from refiners and international sources.
“Flashpoint changes have no impact on engines or emissions. Australia typically has a slightly higher temperature flashpoint owing to our hotter climate, however when the flashpoint was last lowered in 2020 we saw no adverse impact on engines or emissions,” Bowen said in a statement.
“This flashpoint change does not require any changes to storage or handling protocols.”