❓ Opposition questions the Minister on Gull Petroleum service station closures, attributing them to the government's inaction and failure to improve fuel prices. The Minister denies the claims, blaming the previous government's fuel specifications for the issue.
AnsweredQoN 603Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GULL PETROLEUM (WA) PTY LTD, SERVICE STATION CLOSURES
I refer the minister to a statement he released on 29 October in which he said - . . . Labor recognises the important role independent retailers play in keeping the major oil companies honest and will work to ensure there is true competition - (1) Can the minister confirm that the State’s major independent fuel retailer, Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd, has advised that it will close five petrol stations, including one in the minister’s electorate, because of his lack of action in assisting independent retailers? (2) Will the minister now admit that Labor has completely failed to ensure a better deal on fuel prices for Western Australian motorists? Mr KOBELKE
I refer the minister to a statement he released on 29 October in which he said - . . . Labor recognises the important role independent retailers play in keeping the major oil companies honest and will work to ensure there is true competition - (1) Can the minister confirm that the State’s major independent fuel retailer, Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd, has advised that it will close five petrol stations, including one in the minister’s electorate, because of his lack of action in assisting independent retailers? (2) Will the minister now admit that Labor has completely failed to ensure a better deal on fuel prices for Western Australian motorists? Mr KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
(2) Will the minister now admit that Labor has completely failed to ensure a better deal on fuel prices for Western Australian motorists? Mr KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
Mr KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
(1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
(2) Will the minister now admit that Labor has completely failed to ensure a better deal on fuel prices for Western Australian motorists? Mr KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
Mr KOBELKE replied: (1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
(1)-(2) If I understand the questions, the answers are no and no. Gull has announced that it will close certain service stations, one of which is in my electorate. The imputation the member for Mitchell made for the cause of those closures is incorrect. Gull has expanded with some new, modern sites. One of those is on Great Eastern Highway. Older sites have closed. More importantly, a major problem for small independent retailers such as Gull is the current uncertainty of their future commitment and investment in retail fuel in Western Australia. The Government’s policies are having an impact. When a regulatory regime is put in place to force down prices, some people will not have the margins that are required, which means that some rationalisation might occur. The Government is conscious of that fact and wants to make sure that independent retailers are maintained in the marketplace. Without them, the level of competition that is required to ensure that fuel is sold at the lowest possible price would disappear. The place of independent retailers is very important. However, the biggest threat to the independents, and even to some of the majors, was the ham-fisted way in which the previous Government put in place the fuel specifications for Western Australia. The previous Government put in place the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. By world standards, the Western Australian market is trivial. One refinery in Singapore produces enough refined product to meet the needs of the whole of Australia. Western Australia has one refinery. It is a very remote and small market; yet it has the highest fuel specifications of anywhere in the world. California does not have fuel specifications to the standard of those in Western Australia. Now BP Australia Ltd, having geared up to produce clean fuel at the highest standard, has announced that it will sell a large per cent of its product to California and will not supply the Western Australian market. The problem for Gull Petroleum (WA) Pty Ltd and other companies is where will they buy their fuel if BP will not sell it to them. If they must try to buy it in Asia, the study I have received indicates that they could potentially pay an extra 12c a litre to meet the fuel specifications the previous Government put in place, without getting a guaranteed supply agreement from BP. It signed up to a deal that gave BP a total monopoly in the marketplace. Now BP will sell a lot of its product offshore. Companies like Gull have come to us and asked us to get them out of the fix that the previous Government put them in. We are considering how we can do that and still maintain the highest possible standards for fuel specifications in this State. The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
The problem was the making of the previous Government. It had no credentials in this area, and it signed up to a dud deal with BP, without getting BP to commit to a guarantee of supply. Now we are in a situation in which fuel stations, and even some of the majors, are saying that if we do not fix the problem created by the previous Government, they will withdraw from fuel retailing in Western Australia.
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