FuelWatch was first implemented on January 2nd 2001 by Liberal Premier Richard Court and continues to receive bipartisan support in WA.
FuelWatch has been a successful and popular consumer tool in Western Australia. Motorists find it useful and believe they can save money by using the tool – there’s a 15 to 20 cent difference between the highest and lowest prices in Perth on any given day.
FuelWatch has also removed the angst out of a daily fluctuating price, giving consumers choice and certainty.
The FuelWatch website in WA receives roughly 200,000 hits per month and over 30,000 people subscribe to the email service
Motorist now have a government that is on their side when it comes to petrol prices
FuelWatch will be implemented by the 15 December this year. We want it up and running before Christmas. If it can be up and running more quickly, then it will be.
FuelWatch promotes transparency and competition in the retail petrol industry. Currently, petrol companies rely on Informed Sources to track their competitors’ prices, submitting their retail prices to up to every 15 minutes. In exchange the companies gain access to their competitors’ prices. This has resulted in competitive risk being taken out of the market place as stations can lift prices excessively and bring them back down if they are not met by their competitors and can also hold off on bringing the price down until their competitors do so first.
With FuelWatch, companies are obliged to sell at their best possible price or else risk being out of the market for a 24 hour period due to their price being higher than their competitors’.
The ACCC report concluded that, comparing relative price levels between Perth and the eastern states before and after the introduction of FuelWatch, prices in Perth were around 1.9 cpl less on average for the period from January 2001 to June 2007 than for the period from August 1998 to December 2000.
Using just the low points of the week’s prices, such as Tuesdays, the price difference was around 0.9 cpl less on average with FuelWatch.
There is simply no independent advice that has reached the conclusion that FuelWatch increases prices on any end of the cycle
It’s true that the ACCC has been sceptical of the FuelWatch scheme in the past. However, the first time the ACCC did a thorough examination of the program was during last years inquiry into petrol prices and came to the conclusion that Government needed to seriously consider implementing the scheme nationally. This is even more reason to take their recommendation seriously
In relation to motoring organisations, the Royal Automotive Club Western Australia (RAC WA) was also originally sceptical of FuelWatch and now not only support their state’s scheme but are in favour of it being extended nationally. David Moir, Executive Manager Advocacy from the RAC WA expressed his view to the ACCC inquiry public hearing on 28 August 2007 as follows:
We believe that consumer pressure is the best to keep the market competitive, but that relies on transparency and easily available price information. Our recommendations to the commission are that the FuelWatch system is not only maintained in Western Australia, but adopting a similar system in other states is given.
Here's what others have to say about FuelWatch;
CHOICE’s CEO Peter Kell, January 21st – Letter to Minister Bowen
CHOICE …would strongly support the introduction of a national scheme based on the WA FuelWatch model by the Government. We believe that such a scheme should be administered by the ACCC.
NRMA (the NSW motoring organisation) President - Alan Evens
What it's done [FuelWatch in WA], it's actually made the oil companies more competitive because they actually have to say what price they can sell tomorrow and will it be competitive.
That way you know very early in the afternoon that there's going to be a price increase tomorrow which means you can take advantage and fill your tank on the way home.
What that's done is smooth out that volatility. You don't see the big jumps [in prices] in WA that you get in the eastern states.
NSW Liberal Leader of the Opposition Barry O’Farrell, March 30th – Media Release
“FuelWatch will put motorists – not the oil companies – back in charge.
“It will also ease some of the wild fluctuations in weekly pricing which frustrate motorists so much. This will ease the burden on families and pensioners by helping drive down petrol prices. This is about putting the interests of motorists’ wallets ahead of oil company profits.
It will put an end the common frustration for motorists of driving past a petrol station only to find when they return hours later the price has jumped by ten cents a litre.
Family First Senator Steve Fielding, April 13th – Sunday Telegraph
“‘It’s time to act. The latest report found Western Australia’s FuelWatch scheme has benefited Perth families, who since the introduction of this scheme have paid around 2c a litre less than we on the east coast do.
“We know the model works in Western Australia, resulting in Perth moving from having the most expensive fuel of any capital city to the cheapest. So, what are we waiting for?’”
David Moir, Executive Manager Advocacy, Royal Automotive Club Western Australia (RAC WA) to the ACCC inquiry public hearing on petrol prices on 28 August 2007 as follows:
We believe that consumer pressure is the best to keep the market competitive, but that relies on transparency and easily available price information. Our recommendations to the commission are that the FuelWatch system is not only maintained in Western Australia, but adopting a similar system in other states is given.
