Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Do I agree that there are no quick fixes to petrol prices, which are rising because of world oil prices? Yes, I do agree. Do I believe that a stunt like signing a letter would bring petrol prices down? No, I do not. It reminds me of the last federal election. What needed to be done by the Labor Party for interest rates? Sign a blank cheque. Why don’t you write a letter ‘To whom it may concern’—the President of Iran, the President of Iraq or the President of Russia—‘Please bring the world oil price down.’ Can I say—and Australians know it and the Leader of the Opposition just implied it with his previous questions—that petrol prices at the bowser in Australia are principally determined by the world oil price.

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