Page 227 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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closer look at these issues and provide a clearer picture of why Canberra drivers pay so much more for fuel.
The select committee inquiry I am asking the Assembly to establish today will be tasked with looking at fuel price methodology, at the characteristics of our fuel market, the impact of fuel prices on the community, reasons for significant pricing disparities between Canberra and other capital cities, and the pricing disparity with surrounding New South Wales local government areas.
The committee will be asked to examine best practice approaches and initiatives that other jurisdictions have put in place that may have a meaningful impact on reducing fuel prices. It will have the power to request the attendance of retailers and wholesalers to explain how their prices are set and why these differ so markedly from petrol stations just across the border in New South Wales.
Throughout the public debate on fuel prices in our city, the voices of these large retailers in the past have been absent and continue to be absent. It is time for these powerful companies to come forward into the public arena to justify their fuel prices. I anticipate that the inquiry will draw out what factors are at play in the Canberra fuel market, and I hope the result of this work will see recommended actions that the ACT can take to heighten competition and drive down prices.
It is also worth hearing from those petrol retailers who are taking competition up to the main players and selling fuel at very competitive prices within the ACT. We know those operators exist—many Canberrans use them on the eastern part of our city, in Fyshwick and around Majura and the airport precinct.
Separately, I have also commissioned a detailed analysis from the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission on fuel price factors and market competition, in parallel to this proposed Assembly committee inquiry. The ICRC’s work is to give us a sense of what an appropriate retail margin would be in our city, factoring in the cost of transportation of fuel from larger depots—for example, from Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong—into our market.
There is a legitimate price cost associated with the transport of fuel to Canberra; I think we all accept that. But what we find hard to believe is that this cost would be 20 or more cents a litre, especially when prices in towns surrounding Canberra, like Gunning and Cooma, are so much lower when transport costs would be similar.
The select committee is proposed to provide its final report to the Assembly by the middle of the year. The ICRC analysis is expected to take a similar time frame to complete, allowing the government to consider both reports in developing a response that will benefit Canberra motorists. This is not the first time that this issue has come before this place. I remember back in the 1990s it was a policy approach to seek to release sites to the market for independent operators.
Mrs Dunne: That really worked!
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