E&OE...
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Australian motorists will know that since the start of the year petrol prices have been rising.
From a low point of about $1.10 a litre in January, the average Australian petrol price has risen to about $1.24 a litre in the past few weeks.
The increase in petrol prices overwhelmingly reflects a rise in the international price of crude oil - the base product from which petrol is made.
The price of crude oil has risen from a low of $US 51 a barrel in January to $US 64 a barrel last week.
This increase is due in large part to concerns over Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions and her seizure of British naval personnel. Iran is home to a large percentage of the world's crude oil reserves.
The Treasurer, Peter Costello, has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to undertake monitoring of petrol prices over the Easter period.
As was shown in January of this year, ACCC monitoring of petrol prices is ongoing, rigorous and effective in identifying disparities between movements in Australian and international petrol prices.
As well as monitoring, my Government has taken other steps to keep the price of petrol down. Some years ago we cut petrol taxes and provided big incentives to convert cars to gas.
These tax cuts have shaved about 16 cents a litre off the price of fuel and the $2000 gas conversion rebate introduced last year has resulted in more than 25,000 cars switching to LPG.
Through tax cuts, incentives and monitoring, my Government is working hard to limit the impact of rising fuel prices on household budgets.
[ends]
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.82Mb - 119secs)