CANBERRA—The Rudd Government should address the issue of oil prices and its impact on inflation in tomorrow's budget, the Australian Greens say.
Fuel prices should be a priority in the budget because they affect food prices, Senator Christine Milne says.
"We're going to talk about food prices going up, fuel prices going up, but food prices are in part driven by higher fuel prices as well," Senator Milne told reporters.
"Fertilisers are going up because of petro-chemical fertilisers.
"It's time Australia seriously addressed peak oil and there is no indication at all in this budget that that's going to happen."
The Government should also be making investments in public transport, Senator Milne said.
The Greens say they welcome the announcement of a major tax review but question the make-up of the panel.
"They have a so-called independent panel from people like the industry commission, from people in government, and not one of them is an expert on environmental economics," Senator Milne said.
"Now, clearly the tax system is where you could seriously look at climate change, and yet there is not an environmental economist on the panel.
"Put an environmental economist on there, if you're serious about climate change."
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