MEDIA RELEASE

 

NICK XENOPHON M.L.C.

INDEPENDENT NO POKIES MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL  

19th May 2004

 

SA MOTORISTS COULD SAVE UP TO $75 MILLION A YEAR

MOTORISTS WON’T BE FUELLED AGAIN UNDER ‘FUELWATCH’ PLAN

 

Move for SA to follow successful WA fuel watchdog.

SA Motorists will know the price of petrol a day in advance – and fixed for 24 hours – under proposed legislation to be introduced into SA Parliament later this month.

No Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon has announced the move – based on the highly successful WA Government FuelWatch scheme – after reports today that the scheme is saving WA motorists $85 million a year. (The watchdog scheme costs $1.2 million a year to run).

Petrol prices in Perth are the lowest in the nation (apart from Queensland where there is a generous Government subsidy on fuel).

Mr. Xenophon said:

“SA motorists are fed up with wildly fluctuating petrol prices.  Adopting the WA FuelWatch scheme here will empower motorists with the information needed to get the best deal.  Requiring petrol stations by law to fix prices for 24 hours prevents the current farce of petrol prices changing in the blink of an eye.”

Mr. Xenophon said he had instructed Parliamentary Counsel to draft legislation to be introduced in the week after the State Budget.  The legislation will also contain other elements of the WA law which requires greater transparency of the setting of wholesale prices by big oil companies, as well as giving wide ranging investigative and information gathering powers for a Prices Commissioner.  He will also advertise to seek public submissions from motorists and the industry on the proposal.

 

Written and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075