“Fuel Watch at best could make a difference of one or two cents. If we can increase transparency and get rid of uncompetitive practices, reducing the price by one or two cents, then it is worth doing. The Greens are open to being convinced that it will do so.
“But Fuel Watch, fuel excise and the Cabinet leaks are a major distraction. They are chicken feed compared with the underlying driver of the rise in oil prices.
“People out in the real world realise that Brendan Nelson and the Prime Minister’s initiatives were both overtaken in a single day by the oil price rise last week. If oil goes to $150-$200 a barrel, one or two cents is not going to make an iota of difference to those struggling to pay fuel costs to get to work.
“The only thing that will make a difference in the real world is providing alternatives to driving. Until other options are available, Australians will have to keep paying through the nose for polluting fuels to keep them stuck in traffic.
“Mr Rudd, Dr Nelson and everyone else should be looking at investing serious funds in mass transit, fuel efficiency and alternative fuels, not just having a political brawl in Canberra.”