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The Forum > Article Comments > Petrol price pressure > Comments

Petrol price pressure : Comments

By Krystian Seibert, published 18/8/2006

The impact of increasing petrol prices on motorists has become a major political issue.

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This FuelWatch idea is good. Not only will it help motorists get the cheapest fuel going, it will increase competition between outlets.

But it really is such a tiny aspect of the whole price-rise saga.

The bottom line is that we should all accept the eternal rise of fuel prices from this point on and concentrate on doing two things;

1. plan for increased efficiency and less reliance on oil on a personal / family basis, and
2. lobby hard for our governments to get stuck into implementing alternatives (not nuclear) and improved efficiencies.

We must also be very much aware of the changing economic regime, in terms of rising prices of just about everything, rising inflation, rising interest rates and rising unemployment / job insecurity…. and do what we can to protect ourselves against them…. and lobby governments to do the same.

Big changes are afoot. It is well and truly time to start preparing for it, on all levels.
Posted by Ludwig, Friday, 18 August 2006 2:32:38 PM
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Good points as always Ludwig

Here's the link for Victorians at the RACV site for fuel prices:

http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Primary/my+car/advice+&+information/fuel/petrol+prices?CACHE=NONE
Posted by Scout, Friday, 18 August 2006 2:51:26 PM
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Providing information can make markets work better, but it can also come at a cost.

The way regulation works in WA is that fuel stations must advise the following day’s prices to Fuelwatch, which posts them on its website. In order to ensure that this information is accurate, fuel stations are not permitted to deviate from that price the following day – if they find that the retailer opposite is selling for 4c a litre less, they must just lose the sales for that day to their competitor (assuming of course, they don’t have a friendly informal chat about tomorrow’s prices with their competitor).

The effect of this has been to reduce competition and kill off the price wars that used to periodically drive prices below cost for short periods at retailers competed for market share. Price volatility has reduced, but average prices are higher. The ACCC found that prices in WA actually rose relative to other states after reguation was introduced. This may be offset by the benefits of less volatile prices (though personally I enjoy shopping for the best deal at the trough of the price cycle), and the opportunity to compare prices on the website, but it’s certainly not an unambiguous gain for consumers.
Posted by Rhian, Friday, 18 August 2006 3:30:43 PM
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Who cares if the best price in Western Australia is $1.32 or $1.42
I drive in Victoria.So I drive to a service station that the RACV has advised is the cheapest in Victoria only to find the price increased at the bowser by 10cents one hour ago.
My Uncle,a millionaire, told his wife to go to Woolies and buy Corn Flakes because they were on special,He died immediately after of a heart attack.
Being a miser is now becoming an Australian tradition.
Housewives no longer patronise the local butcher and now run between Coles,Bi Lo and Woolies in the four wheel drive.This produces what might be called a smart attitude.The difference today is that the meat is one week old and full of ice water to increase the weight.
Oh yes the four wheel drive cost $50,000,and costs a fortune to maintain.
Get Real. The important things in life are still the simple things;a good education and good health,both of these parts of life have been highjacked in the pursuit of greed and miserlyness.
Australia,the land of heroes,used to offer free education for the brightest upto and beyond University, and free health services for the poor.
Today, after decades of being ruled by the Lib-Lab coalition,we now have a society of students and the poor prostituting themselves to pay medical and university fees.
If fuel cost is the most important issue our nine governments have to address, perhaps they should close up eight parliaments and thus save the tax component.The amount of hot gas that comes out of these parliaments could be harvested and used to fuel our four wheel drives.
Posted by BROCK, Friday, 18 August 2006 6:13:02 PM
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This seems to be a silly idea. Petrol prices are the ultimate market forces in action - the fact that prices change during the day is a reflection of supply and demand in real-time.

Just let the market do its thing.
Posted by DJB, Friday, 18 August 2006 9:50:37 PM
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Exactly. Just say NO to government. If you want to collect petrol prices and disseminate them free or for profit, fine. But coercing other people into doing the work for you is just unethical.
Posted by Disputur, Saturday, 19 August 2006 8:30:00 AM
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