Petrol

Here we go again. Another festive season and yet another petrol rip off!

A ridiculously unaffordable scenario

Now for some of us there’s nothing new in that - we have simply got used to being ripped off. For the free market theorists and other apologists for the big oil companies and major petrol retailers, like Coles and Woolworths, they like the fact that petrol margins have been growing even if it has been at the expense of motorists.

It’s easy for the free market theorists to turn a blind eye to motorists being gouged as some of the free market theorists may be shareholders of the big petrol retailers or may even earn big dollars advising them. They may even have a company or taxpayer funded petrol card. There’s nothing like a vested interest to cloud a person’s economic frame of mind.

Continue reading "A tip off on stopping the Big Petrol rip off" »

Have you ever driven around regional Australia and found large discrepancies in the petrol prices at different regional centres? Do you ever wonder why petrol prices are different in different suburbs? And have you ever been annoyed that the price of the same item may be different at different Coles or Woolworths supermarkets in the same neighbourhood?

Well, what you’re witnessing is the practice of geographic price discrimination. It’s common among our major supermarket chains and oil companies. At its simplest, geographic price discrimination means that consumers in some areas are paying a higher price for the same item than they would otherwise have paid elsewhere.

There are plenty of examples of geographic price discrimination. Petrol pricing is a well known example. Those who live in the city see it every day when they drive to work, school or the shops. Petrol prices will vary from suburb to suburb with the same petrol retailer charging a different price for the same petrol at their different outlets.

Continue reading "Regional Australia is being shafted at the bowser" »

With the debate raging about the carbon tax and whether the initial carbon price of $23 will lead to any meaningful reductions in greenhouse tax emissions, a new front has opened up in the debate concerning the real possibility that businesses will use the carbon tax as an excuse to price gouge.

Price gouging is already a problem in such areas as petrol, airport parking and even groceries. The petrol rip off is now ongoing in many regional areas and even in the city average petrol prices do not come down as quickly as they should when there are falls in the Singapore benchmark price used to calculate local prices.

Airport parking rates keep going up and visitors to major airports are held hostage to the monopoly power of the airport owners who get nasty with parking infringements if you dare to pick up a loved one from the “wrong” area.

Continue reading "We need CarbonWatch to stop price gouging" »

Are you sick of being ripped off at the petrol pump? Are you annoyed that despite ample oil supplies on the market to meet current demand the speculators persist in trying to push up world oil prices?  And don’t forget that the Singapore benchmark for refined petrol used to calculate local petrol prices remains one of the highest in the world.

A rip off is a rip off. The fact is that despite consistently being an inflated benchmark the Singapore benchmark for unleaded petrol has fallen dramatically since May 6. Despite valiant efforts by the speculators to try and prop up world oil prices, the Singapore benchmark price has fallen signifcantly.

As the Singapore benchmark price falls so should the local wholesale and retail petrol prices. The problem is that falls take forever to be passed through to motorists at the pump. We are given the usual “reasons” for the time lag. We are told that it takes time for the oil companies and major retailers to clear out old stock bought at the old, higher price.

Continue reading "It’s not Singapore slinging us at the petrol pump" »

Are you fed up with costly political gimmicks by the Federal Government? Well, you should be as those gimmicks are costing you, the taxpayer, lots of money. We all know about the money wasted on Fuelwatch and GroceryChoice. While those debacles are long gone, they are not forgotten and serve as a constant reminder of how taxpayers’ money can be easily wasted.

That’s why we need to be vigilant to ensure that the Government doesn’t waste any more of your taxpayer money. Now there is one ongoing waste of money and that relates to the so-called Office of the Petrol Commissioner. Here we have a Petrol Commissioner at the ACCC that “watches” petrol prices.

You probably wouldn’t know, and perhaps don’t even care that we have actually had two different ACCC Petrol Commissioners appointed. The first left quickly, and the second one, Joe Dimasi, had been a long time ACCC staffer who was up-sized to a Commissioner title, with all the added costs to the taxpayer that a Commissioner title brings with it.

Continue reading "Sack the petrol commissioner - we’re paying too much" »

Do you know that we have an ACCC Petrol Commissioner? If so, do you know the person’s name and what he does?

Why are these questions important? Well, simply because you as taxpayers should know that the Federal Government is using your money to employ a person who was, according to the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan, going to be your “Petrol cop on the beat.”

When we talk of “cops on the beat” we tend to think of high visibility, deterrence and powers of arrest. On each of these criteria you need to wonder how the so-called “Petrol cop on the beat” rates?

Continue reading "This town ain’t big enough for two petrol sheriffs" »

With petrol prices on the rise again and a federal election fast approaching, the Federal Government is scrambling to get some runs on the board. After the Fuelwatch debacle and with the first ACCC Petrol Commissioner having resigned very quickly, the Government’s tough talk on petrol prices has remained just talk.

So why does the Federal Government continue to fumble the ball so badly on petrol prices? Well, quite simply because of their continued failure to tackle the underlining problems. These problems are far reaching and together they ensure that the oil companies and Coles and Woolworths maintain and extend their stranglehold of over the petrol industry.

In fact, the Federal Government’s repeated failure to tackle the dominance of the oil companies and Coles and Woolworths lies at heart of their failure to deliver on their election promise to put downward pressure on petrol prices. Like their promise to do the same for grocery prices, the petrol promise has delivered nothing for motorists.

Continue reading "Why Australian motorists are still under the pump" »

As we enter an election year it’s opportune to reflect on the Federal Government’s track record on petrol issues. In doing so, it will become very obvious that the Federal Government, like the previous government, has been fumbling the ball very badly on petrol issues and motorists are paying the price.

Let’s start when the Labor party was in opposition.

Grand promises were made and expectations raised amongst the voters that Labor was different to the then Coalition Government. Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and Chris Bowen promised us a “tough petrol cop on the beat.” Great, you may have thought! The only thing is that we already supposedly had a “competition cop” on the beat. It’s called the ACCC.

Continue reading "Canberra can do more to cut petrol prices" »

With the 4 major banks pushing up interest rates at will and the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, looking increasingly impotent when trying to bring them into line, it’s clear that competition in the banking sector is being killed off quickly and dramatically to the detriment of struggling Australian families.

So, what’s killing off competition in the banking sector?

Well, the answer is the same as to what’s killing off competition in groceries, liquor and petrol; just to name a few.

Continue reading "Why do the big four banks rule? Go to the supermarket" »

Have you ever wondered why Coles Express petrol stations in adjoining suburbs have different prices for unleaded petrol?

Ever wondered why Woolworths petrol stations have different prices for unleaded across a metropolitan area?

In Sydney, for example, motorists can, on some days of the week, buy unleaded petrol on the lower North Shore cheaper than can motorists in some western suburbs.

Continue reading "Petrol wars: siphoning off Paul to pay Peter" »

Have you ever thought that you were being taken for a ride on petrol prices? Well, you have!

So how are you being ripped off? It’s simple really – once, of course, you know the games that can be played by the big oil companies and Coles and Woolworths.

Let’s begin at the retail level.

Continue reading "Coles or Woolworths you get screwed either way on petrol" »