❓ The Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection details the positive impact of expanding the FuelWatch service into regional towns, highlighting reduced price differentials between Perth and country areas following the expansion.
AnsweredQoN 1026Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Can the minister advise the House of the impact of the Gallop Government’s initiative to expand the FuelWatch service into more regional towns? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
When we came to government there was a real issue with the differential in petrol prices between metropolitan Perth and regional centres throughout Western Australia. We fixed up the FuelWatch system and got it working. We sought to expand it and put new programs in place. I will not explain that now because I will try to keep my answer short. We consulted with a range of areas that were not covered by the FuelWatch program and on 20 May this year we expanded it into five new shires and 24 new towns, which meant that a much greater number of country motorists could avail themselves of FuelWatch, knowing in advance what the price would be and that they could shop around to get the best deals. We targeted getting that differential down. We all know that prices go up and down according to the international price of oil, the pricing strategies of the majors - a whole lot of factors - and this wide fluctuation is a problem in itself, but the problem is the differential between what is paid for unleaded fuel in Perth and what is paid in country areas. We wanted to reduce that differential, and we have been successful. Signboards helped. Following the expansion of FuelWatch on 20 May, the differential in unleaded petrol prices fell by up to 8c per litre in some country centres. Since that expansion the difference between city and country unleaded petrol prices has dropped in all of the 29 new areas, ranging from a drop of 0.67c to a staggering 7.61c per litre, averaging out at 2.84c per litre overall. For instance, in Newman there was a large drop of 8c per litre, which meant a saving of about $4 on an average 55 litre tank of fuel. The Gallop Government is pursuing the interests of motorists; it is making sure FuelWatch is working and is expanded. It is giving motorists a good deal. While a lot more work needs to be done, the differential between the country price of fuel and that in Perth has been heading down under the influence of the policies put in place by the Gallop Government.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: When we came to government there was a real issue with the differential in petrol prices between metropolitan Perth and regional centres throughout Western Australia. We fixed up the FuelWatch system and got it working. We sought to expand it and put new programs in place. I will not explain that now because I will try to keep my answer short. We consulted with a range of areas that were not covered by the FuelWatch program and on 20 May this year we expanded it into five new shires and 24 new towns, which meant that a much greater number of country motorists could avail themselves of FuelWatch, knowing in advance what the price would be and that they could shop around to get the best deals. We targeted getting that differential down. We all know that prices go up and down according to the international price of oil, the pricing strategies of the majors - a whole lot of factors - and this wide fluctuation is a problem in itself, but the problem is the differential between what is paid for unleaded fuel in Perth and what is paid in country areas. We wanted to reduce that differential, and we have been successful. Signboards helped. Following the expansion of FuelWatch on 20 May, the differential in unleaded petrol prices fell by up to 8c per litre in some country centres. Since that expansion the difference between city and country unleaded petrol prices has dropped in all of the 29 new areas, ranging from a drop of 0.67c to a staggering 7.61c per litre, averaging out at 2.84c per litre overall. For instance, in Newman there was a large drop of 8c per litre, which meant a saving of about $4 on an average 55 litre tank of fuel. The Gallop Government is pursuing the interests of motorists; it is making sure FuelWatch is working and is expanded. It is giving motorists a good deal. While a lot more work needs to be done, the differential between the country price of fuel and that in Perth has been heading down under the influence of the policies put in place by the Gallop Government.
When we came to government there was a real issue with the differential in petrol prices between metropolitan Perth and regional centres throughout Western Australia. We fixed up the FuelWatch system and got it working. We sought to expand it and put new programs in place. I will not explain that now because I will try to keep my answer short. We consulted with a range of areas that were not covered by the FuelWatch program and on 20 May this year we expanded it into five new shires and 24 new towns, which meant that a much greater number of country motorists could avail themselves of FuelWatch, knowing in advance what the price would be and that they could shop around to get the best deals. We targeted getting that differential down. We all know that prices go up and down according to the international price of oil, the pricing strategies of the majors - a whole lot of factors - and this wide fluctuation is a problem in itself, but the problem is the differential between what is paid for unleaded fuel in Perth and what is paid in country areas. We wanted to reduce that differential, and we have been successful. Signboards helped. Following the expansion of FuelWatch on 20 May, the differential in unleaded petrol prices fell by up to 8c per litre in some country centres. Since that expansion the difference between city and country unleaded petrol prices has dropped in all of the 29 new areas, ranging from a drop of 0.67c to a staggering 7.61c per litre, averaging out at 2.84c per litre overall. For instance, in Newman there was a large drop of 8c per litre, which meant a saving of about $4 on an average 55 litre tank of fuel. The Gallop Government is pursuing the interests of motorists; it is making sure FuelWatch is working and is expanded. It is giving motorists a good deal. While a lot more work needs to be done, the differential between the country price of fuel and that in Perth has been heading down under the influence of the policies put in place by the Gallop Government.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: When we came to government there was a real issue with the differential in petrol prices between metropolitan Perth and regional centres throughout Western Australia. We fixed up the FuelWatch system and got it working. We sought to expand it and put new programs in place. I will not explain that now because I will try to keep my answer short. We consulted with a range of areas that were not covered by the FuelWatch program and on 20 May this year we expanded it into five new shires and 24 new towns, which meant that a much greater number of country motorists could avail themselves of FuelWatch, knowing in advance what the price would be and that they could shop around to get the best deals. We targeted getting that differential down. We all know that prices go up and down according to the international price of oil, the pricing strategies of the majors - a whole lot of factors - and this wide fluctuation is a problem in itself, but the problem is the differential between what is paid for unleaded fuel in Perth and what is paid in country areas. We wanted to reduce that differential, and we have been successful. Signboards helped. Following the expansion of FuelWatch on 20 May, the differential in unleaded petrol prices fell by up to 8c per litre in some country centres. Since that expansion the difference between city and country unleaded petrol prices has dropped in all of the 29 new areas, ranging from a drop of 0.67c to a staggering 7.61c per litre, averaging out at 2.84c per litre overall. For instance, in Newman there was a large drop of 8c per litre, which meant a saving of about $4 on an average 55 litre tank of fuel. The Gallop Government is pursuing the interests of motorists; it is making sure FuelWatch is working and is expanded. It is giving motorists a good deal. While a lot more work needs to be done, the differential between the country price of fuel and that in Perth has been heading down under the influence of the policies put in place by the Gallop Government.
When we came to government there was a real issue with the differential in petrol prices between metropolitan Perth and regional centres throughout Western Australia. We fixed up the FuelWatch system and got it working. We sought to expand it and put new programs in place. I will not explain that now because I will try to keep my answer short. We consulted with a range of areas that were not covered by the FuelWatch program and on 20 May this year we expanded it into five new shires and 24 new towns, which meant that a much greater number of country motorists could avail themselves of FuelWatch, knowing in advance what the price would be and that they could shop around to get the best deals. We targeted getting that differential down. We all know that prices go up and down according to the international price of oil, the pricing strategies of the majors - a whole lot of factors - and this wide fluctuation is a problem in itself, but the problem is the differential between what is paid for unleaded fuel in Perth and what is paid in country areas. We wanted to reduce that differential, and we have been successful. Signboards helped. Following the expansion of FuelWatch on 20 May, the differential in unleaded petrol prices fell by up to 8c per litre in some country centres. Since that expansion the difference between city and country unleaded petrol prices has dropped in all of the 29 new areas, ranging from a drop of 0.67c to a staggering 7.61c per litre, averaging out at 2.84c per litre overall. For instance, in Newman there was a large drop of 8c per litre, which meant a saving of about $4 on an average 55 litre tank of fuel. The Gallop Government is pursuing the interests of motorists; it is making sure FuelWatch is working and is expanded. It is giving motorists a good deal. While a lot more work needs to be done, the differential between the country price of fuel and that in Perth has been heading down under the influence of the policies put in place by the Gallop Government.
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