Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his comment on The 7.30 Report last night:

… I know full well that motorists are suffering a lot of pain at present.

If the Prime Minister knows that motorists are suffering a lot of pain, why won’t he cut the petrol excise?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government, through the budget, has introduced a package of $55 billion in support of families under financial pressure. The government, through the budget, has introduced extra measures to support the financial wellbeing of pensioners and carers. The key question here is: what do you do to practically assist the bottom line for family budgets dealing with the rising cost of petrol, rising interest rates, increases in rents and the rising cost of food? Those opposite managed to deliver us 10 consecutive interest rate rises during the period in which they occupied the treasury bench. The package that we have offered in relation to a typical young family will deliver, through the budget, some $52.50 extra a week. That proposed by those opposite provides $2.50 extra per week. The maths speaks for itself.