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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (20 June) . . Page.. 1988 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

I must say that I am sure that the next question will be about that subject. Petrol prices are not quite as difficult to control as the weather, but not a great deal more amenable to control by government. I say that confidently, because at least two successive governments in the Territory have attempted to reduce petrol prices and have been singularly and totally unsuccessful in doing so.

Mr Berry: Labor pulled them down.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry says that Labor brought them down. Mr Speaker, where are the lower prices today pursuant to the policies that Labor introduced? Their engine for bringing lower petrol prices to the ACT was the introduction of an independent like Burmah. Burmah is still there. Drive down Wentworth Avenue at Kingston and you will see that Burmah is still there. It is still trading. But Burmah does not deliver lower prices than its competitors these days. It does not do it, because it has decided that it is going to follow the rest of the market. I have written to Burmah and asked them, "Are you going to set a trend? Are you going to lower prices, as you were supposed to do, or are you going to set a standard?". They have written back to me and said, "No. We are not interested in setting a standard. We will follow the market".

Mr Speaker, with respect, if Ms Follett seriously believes that we should take her word for her desire to see lower prices, I think she should ask herself why her Government was unable to deliver a sustainable policy for lower petrol prices. Mr Speaker, I have seen releases from those opposite, accusing the Government of maintaining higher petrol prices, when the wholesale price has risen, not just in the ACT, but across the country. We were blamed for a 5c a litre increase in the price of petrol across the country. Mr Speaker, if ever there was a case of attacking the victim, that is an example of it. I do not pretend, as the previous Government pretended, that there are magical levers and buttons that I can just press to bring down the price of petrol.

The only device that could possibly achieve that in the ACT is price control legislation - which, in fact, is in place and could be applied if those opposite or we on this side of the chamber believed that price control was the answer to lowering petrol prices in the ACT. I think the answer is that it is very rarely, if ever, the case that such control is required or is appropriate. I think even the former Government would accept that. Although they legislated to that effect about 12 months before leaving office, they never used that legislation. Mr Speaker, any government that steps in and regulates prices is taking a very serious and very dangerous step. So, in the absence of that, I say to Ms Follett, "We know that you have a supplementary question there in your hot little hand. Get up here and tell us in the supplementary question how you would bring down petrol prices in the ACT".

MS FOLLETT: To answer briefly, Mr Speaker: I would get back into government. Under Labor they came down. I do have a supplementary question; the Minister is quite correct.

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