Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to close the debate on behalf of the government. Firstly, I thank senators who have taken part in the debate on the government’s National Fuelwatch (Empowering Consumers) Bill 2008 and the National Fuelwatch (Empowering Consumers) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008. The National Fuelwatch bill will introduce a national Fuelwatch scheme—Fuelwatch—to promote competition and transparency in the retail fuel market. The government’s policy objective in introducing a national Fuelwatch scheme is to address the existing imbalance in retail price transparency between retailers and consumers, along with reducing intraday pricing volatility. The ACCC, in its report Petrol prices and Australian consumers, raised concerns about the relative imbalance in pricing transparency between consumers and petrol retailers. The government considers Fuelwatch to be the only option that will address both the existing imbalance in retail fuel price transparency and consumer concerns about volatility in intraday prices.

The bill addresses the existing imbalance in retail price transparency by introducing a requirement for petrol retailers to notify the ACCC of the standard retail price for each kind of motor fuel they offer for sale the next day, and for the information to then be made public. Fuelwatch allows consumers to ascertain the cheapest fuel price in their area, but it also provides consumers some certainty about buying fuel at the cheaper price. Consumers will be able to access daily price information on the ACCC’s website, or through other mechanisms to be determined by the ACCC, such as an email or SMS text-messaging service. In terms of coverage, the bill provides that Fuelwatch will apply to all petrol retailers that offer motor fuel for sale. It is intended that initial coverage of the scheme will apply to all metropolitan and major rural and regional areas from commencement. These areas will be prescribed in the regulations. Further, to ensure that other regional and rural areas have the opportunity to participate in Fuelwatch, the bill enables the Minister for Resources and Energy to make further declarations to select other localities to be covered in the scheme.

I want to now turn to some issues raised in the debate. Before I do, however, I want to make one fundamental point—and this is relatively unusual for any new initiative of any government—we actually do have an existing Fuelwatch scheme that has been tried and tested and has been found to have a positive impact. We actually have a working model, and it is over in Western Australia. I just want to make that point, because it is unusual in policy terms to have a working model already in existence to which we can turn to provide proof—in this case, supporting proof—of a national scheme which we intend to introduce. So, if the Senate will allow it to, Fuelwatch will deliver real outcomes for consumers. It will address information asymmetry in the petrol market and allow consumers, with certainty, to buy the cheapest fuel in their area. How, otherwise, does a consumer find out where the cheapest fuel is available? How do they do it, short of driving around suburbia and inspecting petrol stations to see where they can get the cheapest fuel, or having some sort of informal price contact system, such as ringing a neighbour who lives opposite a petrol station? Practically speaking, it is very, very difficult. Then, of course, you do need certainty, having been informed that this particular petrol station has cheaper fuel than another station, that you can purchase that fuel at the price that is advertised. This is fundamentally what Fuelwatch is doing for Australian consumers. It addresses the information asymmetry in the petrol market and allows consumers, with certainty, to buy the cheapest fuel in their area. And that has to be an improvement on the current circumstances that face consumers in this particular market. As I have said, Fuelwatch is working well in WA. There is clear evidence the scheme has reduced price margins in WA relative to those in eastern states. There is no evidence to suggest, as has the Liberal opposition, that such a scheme will increase prices.

Senator Joyce went further—and this is a very unfortunate trend that is being established by some members of the Liberal-National Party opposition—and got into personal abuse and false claims about the motivations of individuals in the bureaucracy. Senator Joyce asserted that the former petrol commissioner, Pat Walker, ran away from Fuelwatch. That is simply not true. Mr Walker is a big supporter of the scheme because he has seen how well it works in Western Australia, and he has experienced the real benefits of the scheme. Let me share with you a few quotations from consumers in Western Australia. Mr Jacob, in Darlington, WA, says:

Dear Prime Minister, As a devoted user of Fuelwatch in WA I am very pleased that you plan to ensure that motorists in all states will be able to access information about who sells which fuel type at what price. The Opposition’s policy clearly reflects the lobbying influence of the big oil companies.

Gavin, in Duncraig, WA, says:

Dear Kevin, Please forget what the Opposition … is saying about Fuelwatch. It works in WA and will work nationally.

Alistair, from Lesmurdie, WA, says:

Dear Mr Rudd, I am an aged pensioner and have used Fuelwatch via my email address for several years. There is no doubt that I have saved hundred of dollars in this period. Sometimes the saving can be 10 cents. The argument put by Dr Nelson—

obviously he is referring to the former opposition leader—

is rubbish.

Andrew, in Winthrop, WA, says:

Dear Prime Minister, As a Western Australian, I have benefited enormously from Fuelwatch in terms of savings and so does a great number of Western Australians. I do wonder what the fuss is all about when it has helped us so much.

So we have numerous people in WA who have identified it as a benefit to consumers in WA. And interestingly, the Liberal Party in WA supports Fuelwatch. The Liberal Party, now in government, is not going to abolish Fuelwatch in WA. They support it because they have recognised the benefits that Fuelwatch will confer on consumers.

With Fuelwatch we want, in essence, to make shopping for petrol no longer a guessing game. We want to remove some of the uncertainties that I referred to earlier. If we take yesterday morning in Perth, for example, the pricing spread—that is, the difference between the lowest and highest petrol price—was 21c per litre on a 60-litre tank of petrol. That would represent a saving of $12.60 on the tank if it were replicated in eastern Australia. The option is not available to motorists outside WA. Let’s be clear: the biggest supporters of Fuelwatch are the consumers themselves. The consumers are empowered. They make the decisions. That is what the purpose of Fuelwatch is. The biggest opponents of Fuelwatch are big oil, vested interests and the Liberal and National parties—at least, at a federal level.