A group of 50 NSW farmers travelled to Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday to call for the government's draft laws - which would end the AWB monopoly on bulk wheat exports - to be scrapped.

Tempers flared during the inquiry as the farmers made their feelings plain, cheering, jeering and interjecting until they were warned they risked being thrown out.

The tension spread to the parliamentary committee, where the Nationals clashed with their coalition partner over wheat export policy.

Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce clashed with Liberal senator Bill Heffernan, who also sits on the inquiry's committee, inside and outside the hearing.

Senator Heffernan accused Senator Joyce of talking "bullshit" during the inquiry.

Senator Joyce hit back.

"We have the ridiculous proposition unfortunately that our coalition colleagues are going to support the Labor party in dismantling one of the greatest advantages for regional people who have always been strong supporters, I thought, of coalition politics," he said.

Senator Heffernan later tried to attend Tuesday's lunch-time press conference with the farmers but was asked to leave by Senator Joyce.

"Look serious, Barnaby, look serious," Senator Heffernan called out as Senator Joyce walked up to a journalist.

While the prime minister has not committed to a time frame for the review, he said it was time for a "top-down" look at the system, suggesting there had not been a serious look at taxation for more than 20 years.

Plans for a major review have been welcomed by business groups, although the prime minister was on Tuesday forced to rule out any rises in the GST.

With many Australians already struggling with high interest rates and rising food prices, any change in policy that would add to their cost of living would likely cause outrage.

A spokesman for the prime minister on Tuesday said the GST remained off limits.

"The prime minister made it crystal clear before the election that there would be absolutely no increase in the GST under a Rudd Labor government," he said.

"The prime minister said before the election that over his dead body would there be an increase in the level of the GST. That commitment still stands and will not be changing in the future."

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson labelled Mr Rudd a fraud over his plans for tax reform.

"What kind of fraud is Mr Rudd pretending to be, when he suddenly turns around, the day after his 2020 talkfest, and says he is now a convert of root-and-branch reform of the Australian tax system?" Dr Nelson said on Tuesday.

He also hit out at claims by Mr Rudd that the former Howard government did nothing to reform the tax system.

"John Howard almost lost government giving Australia's future the tax systems that it needs to fund our schools, our hospital, our roads and our defence forces," Dr Nelson said.

While Mr Rudd ruled out tinkering with the GST, taxation experts maintain it should be looked at, saying it is low by world standards.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says increasing the GST will not be considered as part of the Government's comprehensive review of taxation.

But Taxation Board chairman Dick Warburton has told Lateline Business that increasing the GST must be considered in order to reduce other taxes.

"I do believe there's room to go to 12 or 15 per cent, but I'm not saying that's what we should go to, I'm just saying we should debate that issue," he said.

"If we do go to 12 or 15 per cent, we could look at some relief in other areas."

-abc.net.au

Mr Rudd says the system is too complex and has criticised the former Coalition government for not making changes.

"For the 11 years or 12 years that the Howard Government was in office, the opportunity for a top-down review of the entire taxation system was there," he said.

Tax reform was one of the issues raised with Mr Rudd at his 2020 summit at the weekend and he has told ABC TV's 7:30 Report that the Federal Government will respond by the end of the year.

"I actually think we are getting to that time when we need to have a top-down look," he said.

"I won't commit to the next two years ... but I think it's actually time we looked at a root and branch reform of the Australian taxation system.

"But we will come back formally on that later in the year."

Yesterday he was inundated with them, but many ideas were old ones dressed up as new.

The summit recommended a republic, a bill of rights, a revamp of the federation and changes to tax laws.

Marathon champion Rob de Castella offered a fair reflection of how most summiteers felt after the weekend-long conference was over.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of it. I think it's been a wonderful occasion," he said.

"I think we've given the Prime Minister and the Government a wonderful outline for a plan for the future of Australia over the next 12 years at least - and beyond."

Miriam Lyons, director of the Centre for Policy Development, says the most important idea to come out of the summit is a new national approach for the country.

"We're dealing with 19th century plant and equipment when you look at Australia's democracy. That's what this country would be if we were a company," she said.

"We really need to upgrade that and take advantage of a whole range of different ways of engaging people in decision-making, so I was very excited that was one of the things that came out of this weekend."

South Australian Premier Mike Rann believes the 2020 talks will be as important as Bob Hawke's economic summit of 1988.

"Ultimately people want to see deliverable outcomes. I know the Prime Minister's committed to that," Mr Rann said.

"I mean Bob Hawke's summit - which was brilliant - was about the economy. This covers everything from the arts to Indigenous affairs, so it's an incredibly gutsy, bold and brave move, and the participants deserve the respect of all of us [for] responding as best as we can in the shortest amount of time."

Most of the groups listed several broad-ranging ideas; covering constitutional changes, Australia's place in the world and new ideas for health, education, and economic policy.

The government has committed to respond to all of the proposals by the end of the year.

Kevin Rudd told the 1,000 delegates their contributions will be taken very seriously.

"I don't want to have to explain to my kids and perhaps their kids too that we failed to act, that we avoided the tough decisions, that we failed to prepare Australia for its future challenges - be they in security, the economy, across the fracturing of our society the need to rebuild it, our place in the world and the overarching challenge of climate change," Mr Rudd said.

"We'll be looking at proposals in detail, investigating and consulting further and providing a response by year's end whether it's a yes, a no or or maybe, or with changes.

"Second we understand that the ideas process doesn't start and finish in one weekend in Parliament House Canberra, we don't want to stop the flow of ideas, we want to keep this going.

"This summit is not the end, from my point of view, this summit is just the beginning."

Among the ideas suggested were a national curriculum, an opt-out system for organ donation and a rating system to help people choose healthier food options.

Assistant Treasurer and Consumer Affairs Minister Chris Bowen told ABC1's Inside Business program that FuelWatch "is just one step, we're not just concentrating on the retail sector."

Under the scheme, which is to be introduced in December, petrol station operators will tell the ACCC what the next day's prices will be, the regulator will tell consumers what to expect, and prices willl be locked in at the bowser for 24 hours.

Independent service station operator Paul Andronicou, of Fast Fuel in suburban Melbourne, says FuelWatch should be aimed at the oil companies and major supermarkets with discount fuel shopper dockets because "they're the ones that sell most of the fuel in the market and they set the price."

Another independent, Peter Anderson of APCO, which has 19 sites in Victoria, says under FuelWatch "we won't lead the market down as low. We'll be very cautious going down to the bottom end of the market."

The independent service station operators also dispute the Minister's claims that FuelWatch in Western Australia has seen "about two cents a litre cut in the price of fuel."

But there may be other measures aimed further up the pricing chain.

People earning $40,000 will receive cuts worth around $20 a week but Mr Swan says the cuts will not be restricted to lower income groups.

"Certainly everybody's getting a bit, but as you'd be aware, compared to the Coalition, we've pulled back some of their proposals to deliver tax relief at the very top," he said.

"We think it's really important that we have some fairness in the tax system.

"These people [that] have missed out substantially in the last decade or so when it's come to the priorities of the previous government, they're fairly and squarely the priority of the Rudd Labor Government."

-abc.net.au

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon will announce the funding to train 24,000 workers at a meeting with her state and territory counterparts in Melbourne today.

The ministers will also discuss a national mental health report including state-by-state spending levels and program effectiveness.

Ms Roxon says the extra money for training is long overdue.

"They need to be able to work across disciplines - nurses working well with the psychologists, working well with the GPs and others," she said.

"This is to provide training to those health professionals to enhance their skills when they're dealing with patients, particularly with complex mental health problems."

-abc.net.au

Mr Garrett had called for free bags to be banned by the end of the year, but at a meeting of environment ministers yesterday, South Australia was the only state willing to meet the target.

The organiser of the National Plastic Bag Campaign, Jon Dee, says the result is disappointing.

"People were left with the impression from Peter Garrett that he was going to move ahead with a phase out of plastic bags by the end of this year, if necessary with legislation," he said.

"Now that has not happened today. We have wasted a great opportunity."

Total Environment Centre director Jeff Angel agrees.

"I know Peter is not long in the job, but this was his first crucial test because there was a very clear election promise to ban the free supermarket plastic bag by next year and he has patently failed to deliver that," Mr Angel said.

Mr Garrett has acknowledged today's meeting of environment ministers in Melbourne will include robust discussion about whether a plastic bag levy should be imposed.

He told Channel Nine that the Federal Government remains firmly opposed to a levy and his aim for today is to convince his counterparts to agree.

"When we sit down with the states today we've got to come up with something which is nationally consistent which doesn't impose additional costs on families and which starts to see much less of these bags ending up in the litter stream," he said.

Victorian Environment Minister Gavin Jennings says he is inclined to support a levy on plastic bags, but says he is not convinced banning bags would be effective.

"A blanket ban assumes there are viable products already that are available to consumers at no cost," he said.

Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown has told Radio National a national levy on plastic bags is workable.

"I would expect there will be a phase-out or a prohibition on the use of plastic bags at the check-out coming up, if not there should be a levy," he said.

"We know that's worked in Ireland, it will work in Australia, it just has to overcome the resistance of the big supermarket chains."

-abc.net.au

Dr Nelson has visited the New South Wales city of Goulburn as part of his so-called listening tour.

He has called on the Federal Government to provide more social security support through Centrelink for farmers and rural businesses.

Dr Nelson also says the Government should look at changing the eligibility requirements for exceptional circumstances support so more small businesses can receive help.

"I also think that we're going to have to extend the availability of exceptional circumstances financial support, to allow farmers to restock if they're into their cattle and sheep and also to replant," he said.

-abc.net.au

Under the scheme, service stations will have to declare their petrol prices a day in advance, and the prices will be available to consumers on a website or by text message.

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy Chris Bowen says that the scheme should lower prices by about two cents per litre.

"What we didn't expect was that the Liberal Party would so quickly dismiss a plan and a policy to deliver real benefits to Australian motorists," he said.

"All the evidence from Western Australia, where this scheme has been in operation with the support of both political parties for the last eight years, is that it delivers real benefits to motorists."

There has been a mixed reaction to the Government's plan to introduce a fuel price monitoring system.

The president of the NRMA, Alan Evans, said the scheme has worked well in Western Australia.

But others, like David Cumming from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), believe the monitoring system puts independent retailers at a disadvantage.

The Federal Opposition's consumer affairs spokesman Luke Hartsuyker yesterday said there was doubt about whether Western Australians are better off as a result.

"We welcome any proposal that is going to provide concrete savings to motorists," he said.

"But the FuelWatch system certainly hasn't delivered guaranteed reductions for motorists in Western Australia."

But Chris Bowen says that is not happening in Western Australia, where the scheme has been running for several years.

"There will always be cheaper days to buy petrol ... the evidence from Western Australia is that there is still a petrol cycle, it lasts longer and is not as volatile," he said.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Graeme Samuel says an ACCC report did not find any evidence to suggest FuelWatch led to an increase in prices in Perth relative to the eastern seaboard.

"There is some evidence to suggest that on average it led to a decrease of between one and two cents a litre, but as I have always emphasised it's far more important to give them [motorists] power to understand when and where they can buy petrol at the cheapest price," he said.

He says consumers will know when prices are going to increase.

"They'll also know when they're going to decrease and they can therefore defer their buying until they get to their lowest points," he said.

-abc.net.au

Retailers must register their prices 24 hours in advance under the Government plan, allowing customers to use the internet to find the cheapest fuel.

Some motoring groups believe it will lead to an end to the weekly price dip on a Tuesday and others say the monitoring system puts independent retailers at a disadvantage.

Opposition finance spokesman Peter Dutton has told ABC Radio's AM program he wants the Government to guarantee no-one will be worse off.

"In Sydney alone, we know that on Tuesday, 10 million litres are pumped into people's tanks, compared to 5 million litres on a Thursday," he said.

"That's replicated in other major cities in eastern states and those people, with no question at all, will be paying more for their petrol under FuelWatch than they do at the moment."

New South Wales Service Station Association president Craig Glasby says that low point could go up by two cents.

Mr Glasby says FuelWatch, which is based on a scheme already operating in Western Australia, may not lead to any price reductions.

"Over in the east coast, we have a more competitive market than there is over in the west coast, so we're not sure it's going to actually do anything number one," he said.

"Number two, we think it's going to impose problems for the independent market."

But NRMA president Alan Evans says that is propaganda.

"The fact of the matter is, when you look at Western Australia, the research shows quite clearly that it improved the competitive position in Western Australia," he said.

"Indeed, Perth enjoys lower prices than Sydney...

"[Service stations] are going to have to think, they're going to have to plan and they're going to have to make sure they're starting out the day at the best price."

The scheme will be introduced by the end of the year.

-abc.net.au

The Federal Government wants petrol retailers to register their price 24 hours in advance, so people can choose where to buy the cheapest fuel.

The president of the NRMA Alan Evans says the scheme has worked well in Western Australia.

"Its operation in Western Australia we think has reduced the average price for motorists," he said.

"[It has] certainly got rid of some of those major problems of motorists driving up to a station in the morning to find the price has increased by 15 or 20 cents."

But others, like David Cumming from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), believe the monitoring system puts independent retailers at a disadvantage.

"If the independents go out of the market, there is no way in the world we are going to see cheaper prices," he said.

"It will deprive Victorians of their weekly cheaper prices."

The Federal Opposition's consumer affairs spokesman Luke Hartsuyker says there is doubt about whether Western Australians are better off as a result.

"We welcome any proposal that is going to provide concrete savings to motorists," he said.

"But the FuelWatch system certainly hasn't delivered guaranteed reductions for motorists in Western Australia."

The Opposition has asked the Government to guarantee fuel prices will be lower under the scheme.

-abc.net.au

Brendan Nelson has again been forced to defend himself after speculation over his future as opposition leader, saying he is determined to see the job through.

While conceding he faces a tough job in holding on to the Liberal leadership, Dr Nelson said he was "extremely confident" in his position.

"This is a job that is as hard as it is important and that's why I am determined to see it through and that's why I'll keep doing what I'm doing," he told ABC TV.

"These are hard days, hard yards, four-and-a-half months after an election with a change of government after almost 12 years," he said.

Everyone always knew and respects the fact that it's a challenging task, (but) I'm very confident in my position and I will continue to lead the opposition and to ensure we have effective, inspiring alternative policies for Australia."

Dr Nelson was emphatic in saying he had the numbers to retain the leadership, but refused to elaborate, preferring to shift the discussion to his much maligned "Listening Tour".

"I'm not going to speculate about any of those sorts of things," he said.

"The things that are of most concern to Australians is feeding, clothing and housing their children ... (getting their) kids into education, getting health care - all the things I've learned as I've gone (around) Australia over the last few weeks.

"I think the last thing people want is internal speculation about positions in the opposition."

-aap-ninemsn.com.au

Mr Gosper, International Olympic Committee (IOC) deputy president, said the Chinese flame "protectors" would be called on in the event of "really serious trouble" when the torch passed through Canberra on April 24.

"The security people from China, they call themselves the torch protectors, will be there," Mr Gosper said.

The comments contradicted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's previous assurances the tracksuited officials would not take part in the Canberra leg of the relay.

Mr Rudd again ruled out allowing Chinese paramilitary officers to be involved in the security arrangements in Canberra.

In a statement he read from ACT Policing, Mr Rudd said in no uncertain terms that the Chinese torch attendants would have absolutely no responsibility for its security.

"The Chinese torch attendants have a practical responsibility in relation to servicing the flame but have no responsibility in terms of security," Mr Rudd said.

"This has been made clear to the Chinese authorities. Under no circumstances, no matter what occurs, will they be called upon to perform a security function."

Hugo Boss is the latest in a line of fashion labels, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland and H&M, to reject mulesing.

The controversial practice involves slicing the skin from a sheep's rear end to prevent flystrike.

German-based Hugo Boss, one of the world's largest fashion houses, has released a statement declaring it "dissociates itself from mulesing because it contravenes our corporate values".

The company has given Australian farmers until 2010 to stop mulesing or the company will boycott the wool.

And Hugo Boss has taken the boycott one step further, rejecting the use of clips as an alternative to mulesing.

Veterinarian Dr Norm Blackman, manager of the Australian industry's Wool and Sheep Industry Taskforce, said it was the decision to boycott the use of clips which posed the greatest threat to the industry.

The clips are attached to the sheep's skin wrinkles which drop off over time. Farmers had been looking to the clips to partially replace mulesing.

"This is the first real attempt to target the clips," Dr Blackman said.

He said the aim of animal rights groups was "to shut down our sheep industry".

Dr Blackman said he had long expected animal rights groups, particularly People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), would seek to discredit alternatives to mulesing as part of their hostility to the wool industry.

It was unfortunate Hugo Boss had been subjected to misinformation from activists. Using clips was not a form of mulesing, he said.

Dr Blackman said the Hugo Boss boycott was "very disappointing ... the symbolic impact does worry us".

However the boycott would not cripple the wool industry because Hugo Boss had given a deadline of 2010, and the industry had already committed to stop mulesing by that time.

And any fashion label seeking a boycott could buy their wool from the 23 per cent of Australian wool farms which did not use mulesing, Dr Blackman said.

West Australian farmer Max Watts, who runs up to 12,500 sheep on his farm south-east of Perth, said he was not too concerned about the Hugo Boss boycott because the industry should stick by its commitment to stop mulesing in 2010.

He said the wool industry should listen to consumers and retailers.

The FuelWatch scheme will force metropolitan and regional petrol stations to publicise their prices for the following 24 hour period at 2pm each day in a bid to give motorists more choice.

A 2007 report from the competition watchdog predicted the program could shave two cents a litre of the price of petrol.

FuelWatch is already operating in Western Australia and will start nationally by December 15.

What we want to do is ensure motorists are not paying one cent more than they have to at the bowser," Mr Rudd told reporters.

"What we want to do is ensure that motorists are able to buy the cheapest petrol at the cheapest prices at the cheapest petrol stations and at the cheapest times."

FuelWatch will be headed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) petrol commissioner Pat Walker, who previously ran the WA program.

The plan was met with criticism from the opposition and motoring groups over concerns FuelWatch would mean an end to the weekly discount cycle.

"I think we've got to be concerned that Mr Rudd's creating this petrol price commissioner which is really just another pair of hands at the ACCC," Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson told reporters in Brisbane.

"The battlers who are filling up early in the week are likely to lose the discounting that they get early in the week."

Opposition competition policy spokesman Peter Dutton said Mr Rudd had to nominate a price drop that would mark FuelWatch a success.

The Tax Commissioner is appealing against a ruling made by the Federal Court in the Reliance Carpet case.

The court found GST could not be charged on a deposit which had been surrendered in an aborted property deal.

This afternoon the counsel for the respondent, Jennifer Batrouney SC, examined the purpose of a deposit.

She argued that a deposit is paid wholly for the vendor's benefit, and not for the rights and obligations of a contract.

The case has been closely followed by analysts who say millions of dollars of tax revenue is in play and the Tax Office could be liable to pay widespread refunds.

-abc.net.au

By finance reporter Adrian Thirsk

And potentially, refunds could be due to millions of consumers and businesses who have been wrongly charged GST.

The GST was introduced in July 2000, but eight years later the basic question about it remains - what constitutes the supply of goods and services?

The Reliance Carpet case, being heard in the High Court from today, is testing whether GST is payable on a deposit forfeited in an aborted property deal.

In a rebuke for the Taxation Office, the Federal Court found GST could not be charged on a deposit which had been surrendered in a property deal that failed to proceed.

The Tax Commissioner is appealing.

Tax experts say the principles of the case might apply more broadly to cancellation fees, late fees, break fees and the like - and refunds could be in order.

PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, Kevin O'Rourke, says it is an important case.

"It's a bit like income tax, where you have to determine what is income," he said.

"Under the GST you have to determine what is a supply, because without supply there is no GST."

Mr O'Rourke says even if the Tax Commissioner loses in the High Court, the Government might act retrospectively to tighten up the legislation and protect its tax base.

"It wouldn't be the first time where revenue was considered to be at risk by the Tax Office - where the Government has stepped in and put in place retrospective legislation, effectively to deny those refunds," he said.

-abc.net.au

Mr Howard was speaking in Brisbane at a function to celebrate his life in politics.

He spoke of his pride in the achievements of the Coalition government in his 11 years as prime minister.

Mr Howard says he will do everything he can to help the party win government again.

"It's a party of enormous depth and resilience," he said.

"It has a great future. It's had a great past, but very importantly it has a great future."

Sympathising with the party's current leader Brendan Nelson on the difficulties of Opposition, Mr Howard said he remembered other hard times for the Liberal Party.

"Just as we came through those difficult years long ago, we'll come through those difficult years again."

Mr Howard defended the economic record of his government and criticised Labor for not supporting the Coalition's economic reforms.

He says Labor is talking down the economy internally, while boasting of its strength when overseas.

He also says the Labor Party cannot take any credit for Australia's economic prosperity over the past decade.

"Almost every single measure that we undertook in Government - either in any of Peter Costello's 12 budgets or other measures that we undertook that was designed to reduce debt or strengthen the Australian economy - was opposed root and branch by Mr Rudd and his colleagues," he said.

He offered his support to Opposition members and told those gathered he had been lucky to be involved with the Liberal Party.

"It's been my good fortune to have had your support and your loyalty and your friendship over so many years, and I shall remember it for the rest of my life."

Six hundred people attended the Liberal Party fundraiser, including current federal Liberal leader Brendan Nelson and other state and federal MPs.

Tickets sold for $150 a head for party members and $250 for non-members.

The speech is Mr Howard's first public appearance in Australia since his November election defeat.

-abc.net.au

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the number of new owner-occupier home loans written in February fell 5.9 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

The HIA's Ben Phillips says the full impact of the interest rate rises in February and March is yet to be seen and the downward trend for housing finance is likely to continue.

"Most banks have also been increasing their retail rates so we're likely to see that the numbers will be worse again when we look at them next time around for March," he said.

"We expect that this will probably continue for at least the short term, whilst interest rates remain quite high."

Mr Phillips says the recent interest rate rises and the possibility of further increases may see investors shy away from real estate.

"We're likely to see less investment in housing - both new and existing housing that is - and this is a big concern for rental stress," he said.

"We've already got a situation where there's a very limited supply of housing there for rent and we're likely to see that this situation will only get worse. You'll see continued increases in rents."

-abc.net.au

ABC 1's Four Corners program has been told property developers now factor in large donations to NSW politicians as part of the cost of doing business in the state.

Developer Hardie Holdings has admitted to paying almost $500,000 in seven years to gain access to state ministers and lobbying the NSW Government to rezone a large area of land in the Hunter Valley for housing.

NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor stepped in to rezone the land in 2006 against the advice from his department but has denied the decision had anything to do with political donations.

The development - a new town called Huntlee that will house about 20,000 people - is one of the largest ones personally approved by Mr Sartor.

Hardie bought the 1,700 hectares of land for an estimated $75 million.

Immediately after Mr Sartor stepped in to rezone half of it for housing, the company sold it to another developer for $185 million, retaining a 25 per cent share of the project and netting an instant profit of more than $100 million.

Hardie Holdings general manager Matt Somers has told Four Corners, which airs tonight at 8:30pm, developers have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to gain access to State Government ministers.

"It's part of the business environment at the moment that people pay donations, not for approvals. They don't pay for approvals, they pay to get access..." he said.

"No-one wants to pay them if you don't have to. We happily support good candidates. We've felt we've paid the money to ensure we have access when we required it...

"We've just dealt with it as a factor of business."

Political historian and ALP member Professor Peter Botsman agrees donating money is necessary to get the ear of the NSW Government.

"There's a relationship established around a donation to a political party which brings also a personal phone relationship and a conversation at a critical time - maybe all that is needed," he said.

The Climate Institute has released its second annual report on Australians' attitudes towards climate change.

It found that three-quarters of Australians believe that any new electricity generation should come from clean energy.

Climate Institute chief executive John Conner says most Australians expect the Government to take strong steps to reduce emissions.

"They want real leadership on that and they're setting out those markers in terms of what our overall levels are," he said.

"They want those pollution levels to be going down by 2012 and they want new forms [of power generation].

"They want all new electricity to come from clean energy [and] they want their homes to be efficient and their cars to be energy efficient as well."

"They're hungry for action and they're prepared to take action themselves, but they do expect the Government to lead as well.

"So this is an important time and an important opportunity for this Government which is showing some intent but Australians are hungry for more."

-abc.net.au

Newspaper reports today claim the Federal Government is about to introduce FuelWatch nationally, which would force petrol stations to pre-register fuel prices on a public website.

The scheme already operates in Western Australia where it has been responsible for a two-cent a litre drop in petrol prices.

Alan Evans from the NRMA says he hopes the Government goes ahead with the scheme.

"What it would mean is that motorists would know exactly what they were paying for petrol the next day," he said.

"They wouldn't get caught out by sudden hikes like we've seen in Sydney and Melbourne of up to 20 cents a litre in a matter of minutes.

"And certainly in the whole it brings the average price down."

The New South Wales Opposition is calling on the Federal Government to quickly make up its mind about introducing the scheme.