Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

There are government members in here arguing with me. They think it is okay for people to pay too much! After 11 years of no action, 11 years of sitting on their hands, 11 years of running out of ideas and 11 years of people growing tired of the government, they have finally decided that they are going to do a little bit of something. We have the Treasurer making a statement that he now thinks it may be necessary to have a one-off investigation by the ACCC.

We say that is not good enough. How about permanent powers for the ACCC? How about a petrol cop on the petrol beat? How about doing something real for people who are suffering because the cost of living and the cost of housing under this government are unaffordable? Add to that the cost of interest rate payments, and the cost of petrol for most families is simply unaffordable. You do not have to take my word; take the word of Mr Graeme Samuel, the ACCC chairman, who said:

I call on the petrol retailers to immediately give Australian motorists a fair go and drop their pump prices in line with recent international price movements.

Even he thinks that petrol consumers should get a fair go. Why doesn’t this government think they should get a fair go? If that is not enough, De-Anne Kelly, a government member, also thinks that that is the case. (Time expired)

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