Page 3624 - Week 12 - Thursday, 13 October 1994
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The second point made by the Public Accounts Committee in that recommendation was:
. taking appropriate legislative action to enable franchisees to exercise their rights to purchase fuel from any supplier (without incurring punitive action on the part of an oil major).
The Government gives a fairly lengthy response to this recommendation and suggests that it would have to abolish existing franchise arrangements and convert franchisees into independents. In fact, they have taken preliminary legal advice about this course of action, which seems to present them with some difficulty. Another subset of the second recommendation was:
. reducing the ACT fuel franchise levy by three cents per litre (thus achieving the savings to consumers so highly sought by the Government and consumer groups, yet without doing so in a manner causing severe financial distress to local small businessmen and women).
In the Government's response, it stated:
The Government disagrees with this Recommendation on the grounds that it would remove an important revenue source for the ACT and have no impact on the level of competition in the market.
I agree with the Government's position in relation to this recommendation. Given the situation before Burmah Fuels came into the petrol market in the ACT, it is clear that the Government's position in relation to this matter is valid.
The next option put forward by the Public Accounts Committee referred to allowing the use of government sites as retail outlets. The Government, in its response, indicated that it was not quite sure what the committee was getting at in terms of that option. Perhaps Mr Connolly will be able to address that point at some stage in his remarks. Another point arising from the second recommendation was:
. eliminating the existing restrictions on the number of service station sites in Canberra and releasing new sites on major thoroughfares (as recommended by the Industry Commission in its Draft Report on Petroleum Products).
The Government pointed out:
There are no restrictions, in the Territory Plan, on the number of service station sites allowable in Canberra.
I think that is a very important point. I have stood up in this Assembly on numerous occasions and indicated that the Territory Plan is not a static document. It is an ever-changing document. I think it is completely unrealistic to expect that changes to the Territory Plan will not be made.
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