Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw that. As you are well aware, and you were advised of this in question time, Mr Graeme Samuel, the head of the ACCC, has written to the oil companies and put them on notice about unfair prices at the bowser. He has asked them to justify themselves to him if anything happens over this Easter break. A hotline has been set up by the ACCC to monitor prices so that if anybody believes that the oil companies or the petrol stations are ripping them off they will be able to go straight to that hotline and, as Senator Sherry said, cooperate with the inspectors from the departments of fair trading in New South Wales and Queensland in particular to ensure no ripping off goes on.

As I said, you lot were in power for 11½ years. Both Senator Abetz and Senator Ian Macdonald were ministers in the former government and they did nothing at all. We are now acting. In the 100 days that we have been in power, we have said that we will set up a petrol commissioner. That will be Mr Patrick Walker, as Senator Wortley has outlined. We have also advised the oil companies in writing that, as well as the fines at the moment for collusion, we will criminalise cartel conduct. There will be no few hundred thousand dollar fines which they can cover; we will criminalise it so that those oil company directors or people who cooperate in trying to push up the price of fuel may find themselves spending a few years in jail if cartel conduct is proven. We have done that; what did the opposition do while they had the opportunity to do anything about it? Nothing at all.

I do not know what they expect the government to do in relation to this. Are they really suggesting that we should nationalise the petrol companies? I know Senator Brandis and Senator Mason like to travel around the world, popping in on the odd communist dictatorship, like they did in Cuba. I know they would like to nationalise that in Cuba and I think they have in Venezuela or Colombia. Maybe that is the solution. Maybe that is what Senator Ian Macdonald will get up and advise us we should do: take a leaf out of George’s and Brett’s book and go over to Cuba and see what Fidel would do. That is what they want us to do: just nationalise.

We have acted, and we have acted swiftly. The oil companies know that they are on notice. Petrol stations know that they are on notice. If they misbehave over this weekend— (Time expired)