❓ Mr Whitely raises concerns about petrol price increases. Mr Kobelke details the government's plan to implement a sustainable scheme to reduce fuel costs in regional centres, addressing past inaction and current investigations into non-compliance by oil companies.
AnsweredQoN 15Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Several constituents of mine have contacted me very concerned about increases in petrol prices. They have been especially concerned about the excessive pricing associated with the major oil companies. What steps is the Government taking to address this important issue? Mr KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Most members in this place will have been approached by constituents - Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Most members in this place will have been approached by constituents - Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Most members in this place will have been approached by constituents - Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. Most members in this place will have been approached by constituents - Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. Most members in this place will have been approached by constituents - Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Several members interjected. Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE: There were so many interjections I was not sure who said what. Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr Cowan: You have had the capacity to apply a retail cap since you came to government. You have been in government since February and you have not done it yet. We know you will apply a retail cap. Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
Mr KOBELKE: The member for Merredin suggests that the Government could have moved immediately. When his Government came to office in 1993, it removed the cap that had been put in place by the previous Labor Government. This Government wants to implement a scheme which will substantially reduce the cost of fuel in regional centres and which will be sustainable. That will involve a much more complex model that bases the retail cap on the capping of the wholesale price. I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I was most disappointed to find on coming to government on 16 February that this issue had not been progressed despite the fact that the Court Government had promised that it would be done. No progress had been made and this Government had to start from scratch. To get fuel companies to supply and to meet the maximum wholesale price, we must have a workable model. I sought expert advice - which took much longer to obtain than I anticipated - and the major players in the industry were consulted to ensure the scheme would work. It has now been put in place. The scheme to implement a retail cap for regional centres is following a similar path. The model will soon be put out for discussion with major players and retailers in regional centres, so that they can see how it is to work. We will then have a fair degree of guarantee that it is a workable model. We will then put it in place and lower prices will be available to motorists in major regional centres. The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
The Government introduced into the Parliament today an amending Bill to cover the mistake made by the previous Government on the 24-hour setting of the price of retail fuel. That will be fixed. It also brought in the 50:50 arrangement so that retailers will be able to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from another provider. They are only parts of the whole regulatory regime. I acknowledge that the previous Government helped to put in place part of the regulatory regime which is giving us much greater transparency, so that retailers are reporting the price they are setting and there is a maximum retail price. We shall be able to see the difference between the maximum wholesale price and the various retail pricing arrangements. Knowledge of those arrangements will apply real pressure to keep those prices down. I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
I will briefly mention two matters in relation to the maximum wholesale price. First, it has been reported that some of the major oil companies are not willing to supply at the maximum wholesale price. That is being investigated. If there is clear evidence that companies are flouting that requirement, the Government will take stern action. I cannot say that the Government will prosecute or take action until the facts have been established. We are looking very closely at that situation. Secondly, there have been teething problems when companies have had trouble getting the formula right. We have now gone past the point at which those companies can make the excuse that they misunderstood some aspects of a quite complicated formula. If companies continue to attempt not to comply with that formula, again the Government will take quite strong action. The position is being monitored very closely.
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