❓ Mr Zempilas questions the Premier about rising fuel prices and potential price gouging. The Premier responds by highlighting the FuelWatch scheme and reassurances from retailers regarding supply chains.
AnsweredQoN 132Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Fuel supply—Price gouging
132. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Premier:
I refer to
skyrocketing fuel prices at a time when there are a lot of households already
under financial stress in Perth and regional WA.
What specific steps
is the government taking to ensure that petrol stations are not taking
advantage of the current situation?
132. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Premier:
I refer to
skyrocketing fuel prices at a time when there are a lot of households already
under financial stress in Perth and regional WA.
What specific steps
is the government taking to ensure that petrol stations are not taking
advantage of the current situation?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question. Obviously, we talked yesterday about the importance of making
sure that fuel companies or petrol retailers specifically are not unnecessarily
gouging the market and taking advantage of people's anxieties in the community.
One of the things that we can do in the first instance is reassure the
community that those supply chains are resilient.
The key thing we have in our hands to make sure that those companies do not
take advantage of the consumer is our nation-leading scheme, FuelWatch.
FuelWatch is an online measure, which can also be accessed through the
ServiceWA app, that empowers the consumer—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Members of the opposition! The
Premier is responding to a question from the Leader of the Opposition. Do not
interject on him.
Mr Roger Cook: FuelWatch allows consumers to have
real-time information about the price of fuel so that they can shop around to
get the best possible deal. Can we stop the wholesale price of crude oil going
up? No, we cannot. Can we stop the wholesale price of fuel going up? No, we
cannot. But we can make sure that we work with the community to ensure that we
have as competitive a market as possible in our retail sector so that retailers
do not take advantage of unsuspecting or misinformed consumers. We met with a
number of the retailers yesterday. They continued to assure us that they are
coping as best they can with the current spike in consumption. They also
reassured us that they have good indications from their suppliers that supply
chains will be able to meet the longer term or near-term demand trajectory. We
want Western Australian retailers to be protected by collective action in that
process.
for the question. Obviously, we talked yesterday about the importance of making
sure that fuel companies or petrol retailers specifically are not unnecessarily
gouging the market and taking advantage of people's anxieties in the community.
One of the things that we can do in the first instance is reassure the
community that those supply chains are resilient.
The key thing we have in our hands to make sure that those companies do not
take advantage of the consumer is our nation-leading scheme, FuelWatch.
FuelWatch is an online measure, which can also be accessed through the
ServiceWA app, that empowers the consumer—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Members of the opposition! The
Premier is responding to a question from the Leader of the Opposition. Do not
interject on him.
Mr Roger Cook: FuelWatch allows consumers to have
real-time information about the price of fuel so that they can shop around to
get the best possible deal. Can we stop the wholesale price of crude oil going
up? No, we cannot. Can we stop the wholesale price of fuel going up? No, we
cannot. But we can make sure that we work with the community to ensure that we
have as competitive a market as possible in our retail sector so that retailers
do not take advantage of unsuspecting or misinformed consumers. We met with a
number of the retailers yesterday. They continued to assure us that they are
coping as best they can with the current spike in consumption. They also
reassured us that they have good indications from their suppliers that supply
chains will be able to meet the longer term or near-term demand trajectory. We
want Western Australian retailers to be protected by collective action in that
process.
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