Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his response to my question yesterday about the basis of his comment that petrol prices would fall to $1.15 a litre, to which he responded:

I entertain the hope rather than making an educated projection.

Is the Prime Minister aware that the NRMA has now made an educated projection that petrol prices could hit $1.80 in the next few months? Prime Minister, is there any reason at all to expect that petrol prices will fall to $1.15?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand by everything I said on the Channel 10 program. As for the projections made by the NRMA, my recall is that that was based upon the most recent spike in world oil prices produced by the mishap at the BP installation in Alaska. It is easy for people in the situation of the NRMA and, indeed, of many other organisations to alarm people with projections. We are all painfully aware that world oil prices are pushing up the cost of petrol at the bowser. Those in the community who peddle simplistic solutions—and, incidentally, I do not include the NRMA in that description, but there are others—are only serving to make a difficult situation for our fellow Australians more difficult.