$2 a litre

A year ago, paying $2 per litre for petrol would have been hard to believe. Soon it could be a reality. 

Insight asks the question: how high will it go? And can the federal government do anything to stop rising petrol prices?

Petrol companies, oil experts, petrol station owners, truckies, motorists, the government and the ACCC come together to thrash it out.

Prime Minister Rudd has announced his FuelWatch scheme and funding for green car technology. He’s also considering cutting the GST on fuel excise. Meanwhile, the Opposition says it would reduce fuel excise by 5 cents per litre – but would this make much of a difference if, as some predict, oil hits $US150 a barrel?

And on the eve of a carbon emissions trading scheme which is expected to push the price of petrol up even further, is it time we broke free of our oil dependence? How will our Government reconcile the need to tackle climate change with the reluctance of Australians to pay for it?