Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. As has been discussed at length in this chamber and in other places, global crude oil prices have been rising strongly over recent years. This is putting pressure on domestic petrol prices and family budgets. The world benchmark West Texas crude oil price is now trading around US$130 per barrel. It has more than doubled over the last two years. These increases have had flow-on effects to petrol prices in Australia. We understand the pain that high petrol prices are inflicting on working families, particularly at a time when they are facing the burden of 12 straight interest rate rises, courtesy of the former government. That is why the government is taking active steps to deal with the impact of fuel prices on Australian families. We understand the global nature of the challenge requires both a global and a domestic response. At the G8 finance ministers meeting, the Treasurer urged the G8 to take collective action to address the structural supply and demand imbalance in the global oil market. At the Jeddah energy meeting in Saudi Arabia on 22 June—