ACCC to get new investigative powers to weed out fuel rorts, scams and discrepancies

JOHN ROLFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2014
COST OF LIVING EDITORN
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA NETWORK

Game changer … the official ministerial direction on petrol is about to be ripped up.
THE nation’s top consumer cop is about to be given what he calls a “bloody great spotlight” to shine on fuel rorts.
News Corp Australia can reveal the official ministerial direction on petrol — given by the Federal Government to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) — is about to be ripped up.

the official ministerial direction on petrol is changing. Picture: Jono Searle.
The minister responsible for consumer affairs, Bruce Billson, believes the direction he inherited from Labor produces nothing more than a once-a-year “fantastically comprehensive retrospective” that has next to no relevance to the average motorist.
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Not applicable … Bruce Billson says annual reporting has next to no relevance to the average motorist. Picture: Supplied.
That annual retrospective, or review, which has been produced each December since 2008, will be replaced by more frequent investigative reports.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the “more regular, consumer-friendly” reports would “shine a bloody great spotlight” on suspected rorts and wherever possible “quantify how much extra people are paying”.

Look out … ACCC chairman Rod Sims is about to “shine a bloody great spotlight” on suspected rorts. Picture: News Corp Australia.
Although the ACCC already has the power to act immediately against Big Petrol when it believes consumer law has been broken — as evidenced by its recent actions over shopper dockets and price data-sharing between service-station chains — it doesn’t currently have a mechanism to highlight issues that while not illegal, could still be a rip-off.
The revamped ministerial direction will provide that mechanism.
Asked what issues might be probed, Mr Billson said there was a need for an examination of the “glacial” speed at which LPG prices seem to fall compared to the rapid rises that occur just a “nanosecond” after wholesale prices increase.

Commissioned … the 2014 annual review of the petrol industry will still be produced.
Mr Sims nominated his desire to scrutinise large price discrepancies that can be found between nearby towns, as well as the effect of policies such as NSW’s ethanol mandate, which forces service stations to reduce the availability of standard unleaded and is believed to generate extra demand for premium unleaded among drivers who don’t like putting E10 in their vehicle.
The 2014 annual review of the petrol industry will still be produced because it was commissioned under a ministerial direction signed by the previous Labor government.
The new direction would take effect from next year.
Getting rid of the annual review will be the second major change in petrol monitoring since the Coalition won the September 2013 election.
The first was to abolish the position of Petrol Commissioner, a role widely seen as lacking substance.
The next fuel challenge for Messrs Billson and Sims is to help consumers find servos with the lowest prices. News Corp Australia understands the ACCC may be developing a website, app or other tool. Neither man would say.