PM’s petrol prices tweet from 2021 comes back to haunt him
A tweet by the Prime Minister from 2021 has come back to haunt him after it was shared on social media this week.
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A tweet by the Prime Minister from 2021 has come back to haunt him after it was shared on social media this week.
Anthony Albanese in November 2021, before he became PM, wrote on Twitter, now known as X, that petrol prices were out of control under ex-PM Scott Morrison’s watch.
He posted a photo of the petrol prices at the time, with standard unleaded then costing $1.79 a litre.
“Do you reckon Scott Morrison has been to a petrol station lately?” he said.
“Petrol prices are surging on his watch.”
Almost two years on, with Mr Albanese now Prime Minister, outspoken politician Pauline Hanson has taken an opportunistic swipe.
The One nation leader earlier today posted of the price of petrol in her area.
The picture showed the cost of the standard unleaded sitting at an eye-watering $2.37 a litre, paired with a controversial caption.
“Do you reckon Anthony Albanese has been to a petrol station lately?” Hanson wrote.
“Petrol prices are surging on his watch.”
Do you reckon Anthony Albanese has been to a petrol station lately? Petrol prices are surging on his watch. https://t.co/JgJo26gMMWpic.twitter.com/1lVNgteoo5
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) September 29, 2023
Many of Hanson’s followers were enamoured by the cheeky post, pointing out the “embarrassing” irony of Albanese’s 2021 rant.
Ouch …” one X user wrote.
“Lucky the internet is forever. What a shame for Albo right now that the memories of the past have come back to haunt him.”
“I love it, @PaulineHansonOz,” another posted.
“Keep calling him out. He wont care though, he’s got a private plane and a driver on the Aussie dime.”
“This is getting out of control,” shared another.
“Albanese needs to be removed from office immediately.”
Others however were quick to come to Albanese’s defence, while also accusing Hanson of “not doing anything” to help the situation.
“Petrol prices are affected by the price of a barrel of crude oil,” one said.
“Anthony Albanese has no control over world oil prices.”
“Nothing Albanese can really do,” another agreed.
“Price is going to be set by global market.”
“You should do something about that! What is that – you cannot?” another chimed in.
“Ahhh, just gaming the system.”
Sadly, it appears that these hiked petrol prices are here to stay for now.
Last week, an NRMA spokesman said that motorists will most likely see record breaking prices continue, after Sydney recorded an all-time high of $2.22 a litre for unleaded.
“Sydney has already broken its record, we’re probably going to do it again at the next high point of the next cycle,” NRMA’s Peter Khoury told 2GB radio on Wednesday, adding Sydney is not the only city which can expect never-before-seen prices.
“Brisbane’s average is currently about four cents above the wholesale price. So it is falling in Brisbane and it might fall another cent or two hopefully,” he said.
“And then it jumps and when it jumps, it’s likely that Brisbane will also break its record.”
Mr Khoury explained that a number of global factors are to blame for the skyrocketing prices.
“Russia, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, [the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] have come to an agreement that they’re going to withhold production levels with whole supply, which artificially puts up the price,” he said.
In an “unusual move” for OPEC and Russia, he said the cuts to production have been earmarked to continue throughout 2023, putting more pressure on Aussies amid the cost-of-living crisis.
“They would not normally call that shot so far out. But we’ve been warned that these cuts are going to remain now until Christmas.
“And that just is the worst sort of news for families who have been struggling this year.”
Originally published as PM’s petrol prices tweet from 2021 comes back to haunt him
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