Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I would defend ABARE as one of the leading and most professional of the organisations within the general government sector. As I said before, I do not think anyone in any part of the world has been able to accurately forecast movements in oil prices. They are subject to non-forecastable events like the current situation with Iran and the current situation with Iraq, and we remember what happened with Kuwait. There are always these extraneous events that affect the price of oil. One of the most significant events at the moment is the unprecedented growth of the Chinese economy, which is putting enormous pressure on oil supplies around the world. I defend strongly ABARE’s reputation, and I am sure they are doing their utmost to maximise the degree to which they accurately forecast movements in the price of oil.