"The soaring cost of petrol is biting into household budgets in a way that is unsustainable for working families" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"Petrol prices are out of control because the Howard government has allowed them to get out of control."
"There are options open to the Howard government when it comes to curbing the free for all that oil companies are now engaged in when it comes to petrol pricing."
"The issue is not that the Howard government can't do anything about high petrol costs, but that it refuses to do anything about high petrol costs" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"I intend to write to the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello this week urging him to direct the ACCC to conduct a formal price inquiry into petrol prices in Australia in the interests of working families in Calwell."
"To date, Peter Costello has refused to empower the ACCC to conduct a formal inquiry into petrol pricing. The longer he waits, the longer he is letting working families down."
"The ACCC's public name and shame campaign has gone nowhere and has now all but been forgotten. And after all that fanfare, nothing has changed."
“Only a formal price inquiry can force the oil industry to provide all the information we need to determine what is really happening with petrol prices in this country, and why Australian motorists are having to pay so much every time they fill up the car.”
"At present, we are stuck in a vicious cycle where petrol prices regularly jump mid-week by between 12 to 15 cents a litre."
"This hike in the price of petrol occurs irrespective of what happens to the price of oil, and irrespective of the strengthening value of our dollar against the US dollar in which oil is bought and sold."
"We're talking about a situation that is tailored to suit the interests of multinational corporations because the Howard government refuses to act."
This week, Maria is also launching a Petrol Prices Petition calling on the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello to direct the ACCC to conduct a formal price inquiry into petrol prices in Australia in the interests of working families in Calwell.
"Our target is to get 10,000 local signatures for the Petrol Prices Petition, and I intend to then table the petition in federal parliament" Ms Vamvakinou said.
“The fact that petrol prices massively jump during busy motoring periods like public holidays further highlights the urgent need for a formal price inquiry.”
“If the Treasurer, Peter Costello, actually cared about the dramatic impact high petrol prices are having on the average household budget, he would direct the ACCC to undertake a formal price inquiry into the high cost of petrol.”
The Petrol Prices Petition can be signed at Maria's office in Broadmeadows, or at weekend stalls that Maria will be attending across the electorate of Calwell
Contact: Alex Kouttab
