Australia: Call for Stronger Petrol Retail Price Regulation by NRMA

The motoring group wants the federal government to strengthen the act's definition of collusion, and force oil companies to provide more information about pricing to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Pricing differences between petrol stations need to be justified and restrictions would be imposed on the big oil companies acquiring more petrol stations, under the NRMA's proposals. It also wants the petrol commissioner's powers to be strengthened, so he can "crack down" on the oil companies if they are found to be "overinflating their profit margins".

The call comes after independently-owned service stations in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown dropped their prices below 95 cents a litre last week in protest over petrol prices in the industry. "One of the biggest challenges facing independent retailers ... is that they are forced to buy their petrol from their competitors - the big oil companies," NRMA director Gary Punch said in a statement. "These oil giants are selling petrol to their affiliated service stations at much cheaper prices than independents, making it impossible for them to effectively compete."

Petrol wholesalers should be forced to explain why they are selling petrol cheaper to some retailers than others, he said. Current laws mean the ACCC needs to prove the oil companies have an agreement on what they charge each other for fuel. "The government can either make the necessary tough decisions today to bring transparency and fairness to the industry, or be forced to explain to the electorate at the next federal election why they failed to act," Mr Punch said.

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