Josh Frydenberg urges ACCC to ensure lower oil prices are passed on at Australia’s petrol pumps
Josh Frydenberg urges ACCC to ensure lower oil prices are passed on at Australia’s petrol bowsers.
Josh Frydenberg has issued a stern warning to petrol companies to pass on tumbling global oil prices to Australian consumers.
The Treasurer met with the chief of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, on Monday, and announced a crackdown to monitor oil retailers’ prices and “call out” those who don’t pass on savings.
“I wanted to re-emphasise to the ACCC the importance of holding the oil retailers to account in ensuring that Australians get the benefit of the lower oil prices,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“As you know, the ACCC plays a monitoring role, with respect to prices at the bowser. And they have assured me that they will not only maintain their monitoring role and the vigilance that that involves, but they’ll also be calling out any energy companies that don’t pass on the reduction in the wholesale price to the Australian consumer.”
The call represented the second time in a week the government has issued pricing instructions to business, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week warning banks they must pass on the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate cut to borrowers in full. All four of the major banks then cut the RBA’s 25 basis point reduction from their standard mortgages following phone calls form the Treasurer.
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers echoed Mr Frydenberg’s comments, saying it was “absolutely crucial” for petrol retailers to pass on the “substantial reductions” in fuel prices.
“The petrol retailers in this country should not be taking advantage of Australians who are already doing it tough,” Mr Chalmers said.
“The petrol retailers in this country should not be taking us for mugs by hanging on to these substantial reductions in thefuel price.
“This is not a political issue. Every Member of Parliament calls on the petrol retailers to do the right thing, to pass on these price reductions, to make sure that Australian motorists get the benefit of these price reductions.
“They’re doing it tough enough in the economy and they need this price relief at the bowser,” Mr Chalmers said.
Earlier, Mr Frydenberg also responded to news of a likely price war over oil prices after the OPEC+ alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which props up oil prices, collapsed over the weekend.
“Market volatility in terms of equity markets, is not uncommon at times like this,” he said.
“I note some announcements by the Russians and the Saudis in relation to oil overnight … we’ve seen a steep drop in the oil price in recent weeks.”
Both Saudi Arabia and Russia are now expected to ramp up production.
Brent crude futures, which had traded as high as $US65 a barrel as recently as January, plunged from $US45 a barrel on Friday to around US$36 at noon Monday.
The ASX energy sector had plummeted 18.6 per cent at 1211 AEDT, more than twice the dive of any other sector.
Santos fell 26.1 per cent to a two-year low of $4.95, Woodside Petroleum dropped 18.3 per cent to a 15-year low of $21.51 and Oil Search fell 30.5 per cent to a 13-year low of $3.54.
With AAP