Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It might have been their strongest point. They said that Western Australians think differently to Victorians; that Melbourne is in a valley and Perth is not; that Melbourne is the home of Coles Myer; that the introduction of the GST had had different effects in WA than it had in the rest of the country; that there is only one refinery in Perth; and that Perth is closer to Singapore than the rest of the country is. The committee was left to determine what effect any of these factors have had in WA, if any.

The ACCC found that the introduction of Fuelwatch in WA had had the effect of dropping the retail margin by 1.9c per litre. The ACCC’s conclusions are supported by Treasury, which found their methodology ‘reasonable, valid and robust’. Professor Joshua Gans described the ACCC’s work as ‘a far more rigorous investigation of the WA scheme than anyone had ever done’. These were the facts that were before the committee, and all the support for big business to have an advantage over Australian consumers will not hide the facts about the need for the Fuelwatch scheme for the benefit of ordinary Australian consumers. If the Liberals want to protect their big business mates, they should be upfront about it. Do not hide behind some crook econometric modelling. Do not hide behind an argument that says this is bad for consumers. Because none of those points can be sustained. None of those points were argued with the committee. This is a good thing. Fuelwatch will be good for the economy and good for consumers. It will fix up the information asymmetry in the industry and give ordinary Australian consumers a good old Australian fair go. (Time expired)