04/05/2012

RACQ today welcomed the announcement that the ACCC would launch an inquiry into the fuel industry and retail petrol pricing across the country.

“The announcement of this ACCC probe is good news. We have been calling for the ACCC to launch a formal inquiry into retail fuel prices in Australia for a year now,” RACQ Executive General Manager for External Relations Paul Turner said today.

“Queenslanders are often paying too much at the bowser due to high margins, extended price cycles and dominance by the major refiners and supermarket chains.”

Mr Turner said this inquiry will focus on the exchange of ‘real time’ information by the fuel retailers nationally on prices at the individual service stations.

“However, at RACQ we believe a wider inquiry by the ACCC into fuel pricing should include deceptive fuel price boards out the front of service stations and the impact of shopper dockets on the price cycle and the overall retail price of fuel,” Mr Turner said.

RACQ believes the information exchanged by the fuel companies may not be the problem; it was who had access to it on a “real time” basis.

“We want this ‘real time’ information made available to everyone, right down to the individual motorist. RACQ believes this would drive genuine competition between fuel companies and individual petrol stations,” he said.

“Imagine if you could check an app or RACQ website before getting in your car to see exactly what the bowser price was in your closest four or five fuel stations and so drive to the one with the best price.

“This would provide genuine, real-time, information to every motorist and drive competition at a local level,” Mr Turner said.