MotorMouth Pty Ltd has urged South Australians not to fall for the mandated fuel price transparency con.
With polling day almost upon South Australians, and politicians eager to announce initiatives that appear to reduce the cost-of-living for their constituents, the focus has once again turned to the South Australian retail fuel market.
The reality is, South Australians have access to an abundance of actual fuel prices for almost every service station across South Australia and with fuel prices consistently amongst the lowest across Australia, South Australian fuel prices are the envy of other states.
MotorMouth spokesperson Chris Huth said: “The push from the RAA to implement mandated real-time price reporting will do nothing to improve competition across South Australia”.
“Blanket transparency does not equal increased competition and lower fuel prices – instead it’s been proven time and again to increase fuel prices”, he said.
The Victorian Government recently concluded an independent and thorough investigation into Victorian fuel prices, tabling a report in Parliament that stated, “there is no evidence that mandatory fuel price reporting has reduced fuel prices in the jurisdictions where it operates”.
MotorMouth urged all political parties in South Australia to heed the Victorian findings and review planning policies to encourage new participants, as well as support the promotion of existing fuel price apps that already publish site level prices in South Australia and across the country.
Mr Huth said: “Another real concern with implementing a mandatory price reporting scheme, is the significant pressure it puts on Independent operators. Adelaide has a good penetration of independents, and implementing a mandated price reporting scheme will erode that”.
The Victorian Parliamentary inquiry resolved that real-time mandatory price reporting hurts independent fuel retailers and discourages them from discounting because competitors can see their prices instantly and match them.
Real-time mandatory fuel price reporting would be the final nail in the coffin for Australia’s dwindling independent service stations. Any announcement by the government of the day to provide real-time access to fuel prices is simply replicating what motorists can already access and wasting scarce government resources that are better invested in schemes that will actually make a difference to the lives of South Australians.