“The myth: now we are all bathing in the comforting glow of the effectiveness of the Fuel Commissioner, we can see that it really has made a difference. No doubt, there will be no exploiting of petrol price this ANZAC Day weekend.
The 2020 summit has given us volumes of ideas to further alleviate the pressure on working families from the ever upward spiralling of fuel prices. The process of breaking up buy/sell relationships at the refinery gate is well underway and a campaign of mandating access to cheaper ethanol blended fuels is clearly apparent at every service station.
“The reality: the FuelWatch Scheme has not delivered anything because, to be quite frank, they’re not quite sure what to do. Driving around staring in windows is hardly going to change major players in the oil market who know as long as the Government doesn’t want to support an alternate product in ethanol or restrict their access to vertical integration or protect the role of the independent fuel stations, then it really has nothing to threaten their market position with or put any downward pressure on fuel prices.
"In fact, they would be quietly happy that, if anything, the FuelWatch Scheme will work to their advantage in reducing the capacity of independents to match their prices during the day because prices are now fixed.
“Minister Bowen proposes to break up the buy and sell relationship at the refinery gate which allows the so called ‘competitors’ to buy from and sell to each other at agreed prices. This somehow has to miraculously turn into competition a petrol tanker ride away at the local service station.
“So, my question to Minister Bowen is when is he going to break up this all too close relationship? Or, is he hoping we will forget he said it.
“Mr Rudd and the Labor party, before the election, said they would bring petrol prices down and, for the record, prices have only gone in one direction and this is up. What is more important, they haven’t done anything of any consequence to bring real downward pressure on fuel prices."
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