Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Leader of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s comments that the newly appointed cop on the beat, the petrol commissioner, Pat Walker, would be watching pump prices closely this Easter. However, I also refer to the Assistant Treasurer’s comments in this House on Tuesday that the petrol commissioner, Mr Walker, will start work on 31 March, some nine days after Easter. In view of this confusion, will the Prime Minister advise whether the cop on the beat, the petrol commissioner, will be safeguarding motorists’ interests this Easter, or is this just another example of Labor’s spin rather than substance?

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

The ACCC, through Graeme Samuel, has already indicated what course of action he has embarked upon. First of all, he has written to the oil companies, acting in a manner which is effective under existing Australian competition law, to ask them this simple question: to justify to him whether excessive petrol prices in variation of the Singapore base price are in any way sustainable over the Easter period. The ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, asked for replies from the petrol companies as of a couple of days ago—I think the night before last. The ACCC will have its own telephone hotline service operating over the Easter period to take incoming complaints from the public as to whether they experience exploitation at their particular local petrol outlet. That is what I call effective action on the ground.

Does this guarantee that there will not be any exploitation in any given location? Of course not. But does it represent a positive advance in where we have come from after 12 years of inaction? Let me tell you it does. Once this period is through, of course the petrol commissioner will assume office. There would be no petrol commissioner were it not for the pre-election commitment of this government. One has been appointed, with considerable experience of these matters in the state of Western Australia. He will assume office soon and with powers underneath him unparalleled relative to those which the previous government ever extended to anybody to assist working families suffering from the impost and impact of unfair prices at the browser.