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

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. When it comes to one of the core sets of factors impacting on the family budget each week, it is the cost of petrol, groceries and mortgages. In each of these areas, the government has advanced plans to the Australian people, and we intend to get on with implementing them. On the first one, when it comes to housing affordability, I note the fact that the government which preceded us had no minister for housing. This government has appointed a minister for housing, and we have already, within the first 72 days of operation of the government’s term, outlined how we intend to implement our first home saver accounts. There are a range of other policies on housing affordability, because that goes to the ultimate cost-of-living pressures on working families.

Then it goes to the question of petrol. This government has a plan to appoint a petrol price commissioner. Our predecessors—and I notice that the former Treasurer smiles in the seat which he now occupies—in the previous government failed to act decisively when it came to effective monitoring of petrol prices. They failed to do it until, in the middle of last year, we in opposition said that our policy would be to appoint a petrol price commissioner. As a consequence of that, the government, led by the then Treasurer, announced such an inquiry. This government has already undertaken other measures to enhance greater external scrutiny on the oil majors when it comes to the cost of petrol. On grocery prices, we have indicated we will have a—

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