David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are facing higher petrol costs as a result of what is unfolding in Iran. Petrol prices are tipped to jump by 40 cents a litre following the US and Israeli strikes, which is going to have a significant impact on household budgets across the country. We obviously cannot control whether the Strait of Hormuz opens to allow oil to be transported or whether international prices rise. What we can control is whether international instability becomes an excuse for domestic profiteering.

Here in Canberra we're already seeing prices above two bucks a litre. They are spiking in response to the Iran conflict but before wholesale prices have even increased, and that should concern every single one of us. Canberra, alongside Darwin, already has the highest petrol prices in the country; they're around four cents per litre higher than in other capital cities. That means Canberrans are paying almost $20 million a year extra to fill up their cars.

If global instability is being used as cover for price gouging, it's going to get much worse. The Senate needs to stand up and say, 'We will be watching you.' The Senate needs to say to the fuel companies, 'We will be watching when prices go up, and we will take action if we suspect price gouging.' I'm also calling on the government to look at a national, open, real-time fuel price reporting standard. Markets only work when they are transparent and competitive. In an environment ripe for price gouging, Canberra drivers and drivers across the country need the market to be both.