MTAA Welcomes Family First Efforts To Amend Petrol Legislation

MTAA learnt yesterday of amendments to the Petroleum Retail Legislation Repeal Bill 2006 to be moved by Senator Fielding on behalf of Family First in the committee of the whole of the Senate.

MTAA and its Member, the Australian Service Station and Convenience Store Association, welcomes these amendments seeking as they do to limit the inevitable capture of the petroleum market by two oil companies and two grocers at the cost of consumers, franchised service stations and independent service stations. The measures Senator Fielding has proposed may go a good way towards ensuring access to fuel supplies, particularly by independents and at a fair price, and limiting the growing aggregation of service station sites and fuel volumes in the market. They will also ensure collective bargaining and an annual review of the OilCode in the interests of motorists and the industry.

On behalf of its members, MTAA and ASSCSA believe these amendments to be positive but would wish that more could be done in the way of seeing the market remain competitive and open to entry.

As MTAA and ASSCSA have long said, the Government’s Repeal Bill will provide extraordinary advantages to those two oil companies and two grocers at the cost of all consumers and at the cost of the presence of franchised and independent service stations in the market.

The Government calls its measures reforms. They are no such thing. They are in fact retrogressive. Senator Fielding can see this and we hope other parties can as well and that the Senate rejects or amends the Bill.

For further information please contact Michael Delaney, Executive Director of MTAA, on
(02)6273 4333.