CANBERRA—Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has refused to guarantee his government's FuelWatch scheme will lower petrol prices.
Mr Rudd came under sustained fire over petrol today after it was revealed one of his own senior ministers opposed the national FuelWatch scheme in cabinet.
Energy Minister Martin Ferguson argued he supported FuelWatch despite the leak of his cabinet submission saying he opposed the scheme, under which service stations will be required to fix their prices each day.
A federal opposition backbencher today asked Mr Rudd if he could guarantee lower fuel prices under the scheme.
But Mr Rudd told parliament he would not make irresponsible guarantees.
"The Australian people are sick and tired of irresponsible guarantees by politicians like the one which said, 'Let's keep interest rates at record lows'," Mr Rudd said.
The opposition unsuccessfully moved a censure motion in parliament against Mr Rudd over petrol costs.
Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson said Mr Rudd has let down Australians who were trying to make ends meet, and he was giving up after less than six months in the job.
"If you can't do any more for Australians, if you can't do any more for families that are struggling and buckling under petrol, get out of the way and give the job to someone who can," Dr Nelson told parliament.
Mr Rudd defended Fuelwatch, saying an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) report found Western Australia's existing FuelWatch scheme had reduced average pump prices by 1.9 cents per litre.
He said the findings in the report - which was commissioned in 2007 by the former treasurer Peter Costello - had influenced the policy.
As the row over how to best to ease the pain for motorists paying record petrol prices continued, oil prices were again on the rise in international markets after more violence erupted in Nigeria, a key African oil exporter.
The oil price rose nearly $US1 to $US133 a barrel and close to last week's record of just above $US135.
The opposition asked Mr Rudd why he ignored Mr Ferguson's advice that a national FuelWatch would be anti-competitive and hurt small business.
"Having an exchange of views, having a debate where you have a complete embrace of different points of view is the way to go," Mr Rudd said.
He said the former coalition government had lacked free and frank debate "on the question of the Iraq war ... climate change and all those matters which went through the cabinet of the dearly departed Howard government".
Mr Ferguson said he now fully supported FuelWatch.
"Cabinet decided that my views were not appropriate and cabinet correctly decided to introduce a FuelWatch scheme," Mr Ferguson told ABC Radio.
The government has also floated cutting GST on fuel excise - the so-called tax on tax - which would save motorists just under four cents a litre.
However, state governments which collect the GST are opposed to losing the revenue.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said: "I don't think the public wants to see our schools and our hospitals short-changed."
Victorian Premier John Brumby said his state stood to lose $150 million a year if the GST was removed from petrol and he would want the federal government to find ways to fill that gap.
Family First senator Steve Fielding - who has long campaigned for a cut in petrol taxes - said: "Clearly the states are drunk on petrol tax."
The opposition is proposing a five-cents-a-litre cut in fuel excise.
There was some good news today for motorists on the outlook for oil prices, although they may have to wait five years to see the full benefit.
The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE), is predicting oil prices to halve over the next five years to $US67 a barrel - in 2008 dollars - by 2013.
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