The Minister outlines the benefits of FuelWatch in WA, citing lower petrol prices compared to other Australian cities and a reduced price difference between city and country areas. The response highlights the system's value to motorists and encourages its use.

AnsweredQoN 403Legislative Assembly
Asked
29 August 2007
Portfolio
Consumer Protection

QuestionView source ↗

FUELWATCH
I understand that the members of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission were in Perth yesterday conducting a public inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol. Will the minister please outline how the price of petrol in Western Australia has been affected by FuelWatch? Ms S.M. McHALE

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for Kingsley for her question. FuelWatch is unique to Western Australia. I believe the commission was highly appreciative of the analysis that the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection provided on fuel pricing data since 2001. The government’s submission made a number of very important comments and pointers on the factors that drive fuel prices in Western Australia. The first point was that it debunked claims by petrol companies that pricing cycles actually benefit motorists. They do not; instead they benefit the companies themselves. The second major finding was that motorists typically purchase fuel on Thursday and Friday, regardless of the current point in the price cycle, thereby making where they buy their fuel more important than when; hence the importance of the FuelWatch system in WA. It was also interesting to note the little evidence there was to support claims that the shopper docket system or schemes by supermarkets were driving out independent fuel retailers; or indeed that supermarkets were loading their food prices to recover the cost of the discount. However, the house ought to be very interested to know that the inquiry served to highlight the benefits of the FuelWatch system to WA motorists. I am pleased to say that Perth is the capital city in Australia with the cheapest unleaded petrol. FuelWatch data demonstrated that Perth’s unleaded petrol prices have been consistently lower than those in other major cities of Australia following the introduction of FuelWatch in 2001. Perth, therefore, has become the city in which to buy the cheapest unleaded petrol. Since 2003 that difference has been around 2.5c a litre compared with Melbourne. The difference may seem small, but just 1c a litre difference at the pump equates to about $16 million that motorists in Western Australia can save. The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for her question. FuelWatch is unique to Western Australia. I believe the commission was highly appreciative of the analysis that the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection provided on fuel pricing data since 2001. The government’s submission made a number of very important comments and pointers on the factors that drive fuel prices in Western Australia. The first point was that it debunked claims by petrol companies that pricing cycles actually benefit motorists. They do not; instead they benefit the companies themselves. The second major finding was that motorists typically purchase fuel on Thursday and Friday, regardless of the current point in the price cycle, thereby making where they buy their fuel more important than when; hence the importance of the FuelWatch system in WA. It was also interesting to note the little evidence there was to support claims that the shopper docket system or schemes by supermarkets were driving out independent fuel retailers; or indeed that supermarkets were loading their food prices to recover the cost of the discount. However, the house ought to be very interested to know that the inquiry served to highlight the benefits of the FuelWatch system to WA motorists. I am pleased to say that Perth is the capital city in Australia with the cheapest unleaded petrol. FuelWatch data demonstrated that Perth’s unleaded petrol prices have been consistently lower than those in other major cities of Australia following the introduction of FuelWatch in 2001. Perth, therefore, has become the city in which to buy the cheapest unleaded petrol. Since 2003 that difference has been around 2.5c a litre compared with Melbourne. The difference may seem small, but just 1c a litre difference at the pump equates to about $16 million that motorists in Western Australia can save. The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
I thank the member for Kingsley for her question. FuelWatch is unique to Western Australia. I believe the commission was highly appreciative of the analysis that the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection provided on fuel pricing data since 2001. The government’s submission made a number of very important comments and pointers on the factors that drive fuel prices in Western Australia. The first point was that it debunked claims by petrol companies that pricing cycles actually benefit motorists. They do not; instead they benefit the companies themselves. The second major finding was that motorists typically purchase fuel on Thursday and Friday, regardless of the current point in the price cycle, thereby making where they buy their fuel more important than when; hence the importance of the FuelWatch system in WA. It was also interesting to note the little evidence there was to support claims that the shopper docket system or schemes by supermarkets were driving out independent fuel retailers; or indeed that supermarkets were loading their food prices to recover the cost of the discount. However, the house ought to be very interested to know that the inquiry served to highlight the benefits of the FuelWatch system to WA motorists. I am pleased to say that Perth is the capital city in Australia with the cheapest unleaded petrol. FuelWatch data demonstrated that Perth’s unleaded petrol prices have been consistently lower than those in other major cities of Australia following the introduction of FuelWatch in 2001. Perth, therefore, has become the city in which to buy the cheapest unleaded petrol. Since 2003 that difference has been around 2.5c a litre compared with Melbourne. The difference may seem small, but just 1c a litre difference at the pump equates to about $16 million that motorists in Western Australia can save. The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
FuelWatch is unique to Western Australia. I believe the commission was highly appreciative of the analysis that the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection provided on fuel pricing data since 2001. The government’s submission made a number of very important comments and pointers on the factors that drive fuel prices in Western Australia. The first point was that it debunked claims by petrol companies that pricing cycles actually benefit motorists. They do not; instead they benefit the companies themselves. The second major finding was that motorists typically purchase fuel on Thursday and Friday, regardless of the current point in the price cycle, thereby making where they buy their fuel more important than when; hence the importance of the FuelWatch system in WA. It was also interesting to note the little evidence there was to support claims that the shopper docket system or schemes by supermarkets were driving out independent fuel retailers; or indeed that supermarkets were loading their food prices to recover the cost of the discount. However, the house ought to be very interested to know that the inquiry served to highlight the benefits of the FuelWatch system to WA motorists. I am pleased to say that Perth is the capital city in Australia with the cheapest unleaded petrol. FuelWatch data demonstrated that Perth’s unleaded petrol prices have been consistently lower than those in other major cities of Australia following the introduction of FuelWatch in 2001. Perth, therefore, has become the city in which to buy the cheapest unleaded petrol. Since 2003 that difference has been around 2.5c a litre compared with Melbourne. The difference may seem small, but just 1c a litre difference at the pump equates to about $16 million that motorists in Western Australia can save. The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
It was also interesting to note the little evidence there was to support claims that the shopper docket system or schemes by supermarkets were driving out independent fuel retailers; or indeed that supermarkets were loading their food prices to recover the cost of the discount. However, the house ought to be very interested to know that the inquiry served to highlight the benefits of the FuelWatch system to WA motorists. I am pleased to say that Perth is the capital city in Australia with the cheapest unleaded petrol. FuelWatch data demonstrated that Perth’s unleaded petrol prices have been consistently lower than those in other major cities of Australia following the introduction of FuelWatch in 2001. Perth, therefore, has become the city in which to buy the cheapest unleaded petrol. Since 2003 that difference has been around 2.5c a litre compared with Melbourne. The difference may seem small, but just 1c a litre difference at the pump equates to about $16 million that motorists in Western Australia can save. The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
The public inquiry has also shown that FuelWatch has helped Western Australia’s country motorists. Between 2001 and 2007 the difference in unleaded petrol prices between city and country has decreased in 13 of the 21 original regional areas included in the FuelWatch boundaries. We extended those boundaries in 2003 to make sure that we provided greater support to country and regional Western Australian motorists. I am pleased to be able to report to Parliament that the FuelWatch system in Western Australia is being recognised nationally. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan : Another good Liberal initiative. Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
Several members interjected. Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.
Ms S.M. McHALE : The voice from the past. FuelWatch is indeed a very valuable tool for Western Australian motorists. It is pleasing that other jurisdictions are now looking very closely at the inquiry’s findings, and certainly at Western Australia’s system. I encourage the WA motoring population to make more use and take advantage of the system. I also ask and encourage all members of Parliament to promote the FuelWatch system to their constituents. It is working for Western Australia. The results are very evident.

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