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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (4 December) . . Page.. 4582 ..

Mr Moore: Flash-in-the-pan?

MR OSBORNE: Flash-in-the-pan. You also said in a newspaper report that you thought that the Burmah experiment was a dismal failure and had had no effect on petrol prices. Things looked good for a while, Minister. By the time a second Gull station opened late in September, the selling price was 68.9c a litre, and not long afterwards prices went as low as 67.9c a litre. But five days later, on 1 October, petrol prices around town rocketed. That day, Shell stations lifted their price by 9c a litre to a peak of 77.9c. Today, my office has contacted numerous outlets to check their prices. From those who would speak about the price of their fuel and the ones that we observed, it would seem that the average price today is nearly 77c a litre. Interestingly, Burmah would not reveal its price; but the attendant there said that all petrol prices in Canberra are the same. Mr Humphries, do you stand by your prediction that petrol prices will fall for a sustained period; or do you, like me, fear another price hike at Christmas?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, let me thank Mr Osborne for that question. I also am very cynical about the intentions of the petrol companies, particularly the major companies who still control a large number of outlets in the ACT. Yes, I do fear that price hikes at Christmas will be attempted in cases where the companies feel that they can get away with that. The fact of the matter is that the new players in the marketplace - which, we have already seen and you have quoted already, have had a positive effect on petrol prices in the Territory - are still small in number.

We have recently seen the opening of the Conder Woolworths Plus petrol outlet on the site at Tuggeranong and the two Gull stations in the ACT as well, which I think are now open. Certainly, the one at Belconnen is open, and I think the other one on the Monaro Highway is now also open. Mr Speaker, the impact of those sites, particularly on prices in Tuggeranong, I believe, has been demonstrated over the last four or five months, particularly since the Woolworths Plus outlets opened. Prices have been, on occasions, very competitive, particularly in Tuggeranong. I believe that that is a phenomenon which can be sustained across other parts of the ACT as well, as more such outlets open.

I have already explained to the Assembly the difficulty in organising sites in some cases; but a site in Mawson has been identified and is in the process of being released. Sites in Belconnen and other parts of Canberra are being negotiated, and I hope that they will also come on stream. I hope that the positive effect that those additional players will have on prices will be sustained. I have not in the past undertaken, and I do not now undertake, that they will always produce a downward trend in prices, because prices are always subject to a number of factors, including factors outside of Australia altogether. But the existence of those extra competitors in the marketplace is a positive thing. We have already seen that in terms of petrol prices in some parts of the ACT. The effect has been more sustained than it was with Burmah. So, my comments about these new players stand, and I hope that they will be sustained over a period of time as other outlets open.

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