Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce today welcomed calls by Prime Minister John Howard for stronger powers to be given to the ACCC for the investigation of fuel pricing.

Senator Joyce has been a long time advocate for stronger Trade Practices Act laws as evidenced by his maiden speech and his work on the Senate Economics Committee. Senator Joyce has always maintained the market is over centralised by the oil majors and major retailers.

“Stronger investigative powers are essential to decipher the complex mechanisms of price manipulation which will always be the case with an overcentralised market.

“Not only do we need to investigate how prices may be manipulated to the detriment of small businesses and consumers but we need a strengthening of the Trade Practices Act to deal with this manipulation and other anti-competitive conduct.

“The ultimate protection against the exploitation of the Australian consumer comes from inhibiting the anti-competitive vertical integration of organisations. This is where the major players in the in the oil industry derive their power; the same company, or variants thereof, control oil production from the well to the bowser nozzle.

“Additionally, a wider and more diverse retail base assists in promoting price competition. Since the passage of the Sites and Franchise Act, supported by Labor last year, this wider retail base has been diminished.

“It is essential if you want price discounting that there is competition existing away from the oil majors and their hand-in-glove association with Coles and Woolworths in fuel retailing.

“Ultimately, we need a competing product to the one the oil companies are selling us and this is why it’s essential for us to mandate ethanol, a product used widely around the world to bring greater integrity into the market place.

“Ethanol currently sells for 80c/L, fuel is currently $1.25/L, how much of your fuel would like to pay only 80c a litre for?" Senator Joyce said.