Is fuel price monitoring counter-productive?

The NSW State Opposition said in a press release today that it would push for a Parliamentary inquiry into the impact of the fuel price monitoring scheme, FuelCheck on the overall cost of fuel in NSW.

Labor pointed to a similar parliamentary inquiry recently conducted in Victoria which concluded that: “There is no evidence that mandatory fuel price reporting has reduced fuel prices in the jurisdictions where it operates”.

Shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, Yasmin Catley MP said: “It is galling that the Berejikilian Government is claiming schemes like FuelCheck are saving motorists money when all the evidence seems to be pointing the other way.

“Victoria has held an exhaustive inquiry into this matter, and have pointed out that schemes like FuelCheck discourage aggressive pricing and do not lead to lower petrol prices.

Ms Catley added that the Government announced the FuelCheck scheme with some fanfare in 2016, and continues to claim it reduces fuel prices – despite an OECD report claiming that such schemes may lead to higher fuel prices.

Labor said that the NRMA, giving evidence under oath to the Victorian inquiry, was circumspect on the impacts of FuelCheck.

While FuelCheck provided more information to consumers, it also provided this information to sellers, which the OECD report pointed out, could increase collusion, reduce completion and push petrol prices up.

The Labor Opposition said it is also concerned about the impacts on smaller independent retailers, who are in danger of losing the last competitive edge to the majors – price. Such evidence was given to the Victorian inquiry, which heard that retailers were less likely to aggressively discount prices under mandatory reporting.

“Labor is calling for a Parliamentary inquiry to get to the real truth behind the Government’s Fuelcheck scheme and its impact on petrol pricing,” Ms Catley concluded.