SHADOW Regional Development Minister Eddie Hughes has called for Australia’s competition regulator to investigate petrol prices in regional communities, saying real-time pricing will not address the issue of what he described is “almost active collusion” between some fuel companies.
The State Government will trial a real-time fuel pricing system which will require petrol stations to report price changes 30 minutes before they occur.
In parliament this week, Mr Hughes said real-time fuel pricing would have little value for regional South Australia, claiming anti-competitive practices occured in country communities.
Mr Hughes said he sought information from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about the higher price of petrol in regional locations compared to the capital city.
The ACCC’s website said the extent to which petrol prices in each location were influenced in changes in international refined petrol prices varied between locations, depending on the specific characteristics of each regional location.
“You can accept to a degrees some of these elements,” Mr Hughes said.
“I accept freight will have a marginal impact on prices when it comes to regional communities.”
But Mr Hughes said in some towns, every service station was “selling at the same price to the last decimal point”.
“I would think the ACCC would take that seriously and have a look at what is going on,” he said.
“It means the people in regional communities are being actively ripped off.
“It is a direct and a disgraceful rip off that is occurring in a lot of regional communities.”
Mr Hughes said the ACCC needed to investigate petrol prices into some of the state’s regional markets.
“What is going on in those regional markets is coming at the expense of consumers in those markets,” he said.
“Get off your bloody arse and come out to these regional communities and have a look at what is going on.”
The ACCC declined to comment.
