Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on steps the government has taken to engage with the global community on skyrocketing petrol costs that are hurting Australian families?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. The government do appreciate that we are, as the Prime Minister said, facing a global fuel shock. It is impacting here as it is impacting around the world. That is why the government are taking active steps to deal with the impact of fuel prices on Australian families, and that is why we are doing everything within our power to act globally as well as to act nationally.

The challenge of rising fuel prices was at the centre of discussions with the UK Chancellor, and also with finance ministers at the recent G8 meeting in Osaka. My discussions emphasised the global nature of rising oil prices, and also the impacts they are having on families around the globe. And at the G8 finance ministers meeting I urged the G8 to take collective action to address structural supply-and-demand imbalances in the global oil market. The G8 finance ministers called on oil-producing nations to lift global supply. They also called on the IMF and the IEA to investigate what is going on on the supply side and on the demand side. The government will continue to engage internationally with all of our partners to find lasting solutions to this global problem.