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

The Leader of the Opposition interjects, ‘Another review.’ I notice that in the Leader of the Opposition’s budget reply he is depending on precisely that review to construct his position on the future of retirement incomes policy and the position on seniors. If it is such a bad review, why is it that those opposite are depending on the selfsame review to deliver their own policy outcome? It would help if those opposite could develop a coherent position.

On the question of global oil prices, which the honourable member refers to, and their impact on Australia and at the bowser for working families, petrol prices are going through the roof and that is affecting working families right across the country. It is affecting all those working Australians and it is affecting those who are doing it tough in Australia as well. Therefore, it is important to place into context what is happening on oil prices. If you look right across the spectrum and across the world, what we have seen since the Iraq war is global oil prices having gone up by 400 per cent. We have had oil prices double in the last year. We have had the biggest increases in global oil prices since the 1970s when we had the double oil shock of that decade. So what we have today is oil prices at their highest point in history, taking into account all inflationary factors. That is the global economic reality, and the impact on Australians at the bowser is acute. Based on the analyses that we have been provided, we have now had Australians paying $30 more per month over the last seven months. This is a big slug on the family budget. Right across the world we see prices going up as well. In the UK they are now paying $2.35 a litre and $2.95 a litre in France.

In terms of a proper analysis of what is happening with the global oil challenges, what are we therefore confronted with? Across the world today, we have a huge number of supply and demand factors at work. On the demand side, with the rise of China and India, the same factors which are fuelling the demand for Australia’s energy based resources are fuelling global demand for oil—hence, the oil price is going through the roof. You see that with India bringing on stream something like 1.3 million new automobiles every year. There is a similar development in China.

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