Steven Miles defends proposed state-owned service stations
It’s been slammed as crude, populist and bonkers, but Premier Steven Miles is not backing down on an idea to build state-owned service stations.
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Premier Steven Miles has defended his promise to build state-owned service stations despite economists slamming the idea as crude, populist and bonkers.
Mr Miles said there would always be some people who agree and others who don’t on portions of policy.
But he said it was the only comprehensive plan on the table to give Queenslanders more fuel price stability.
Under the election promise a re-elected Labor government would work to bring down the price of petrol by legislating that fuel prices can’t go up by more than 5 cents a litre a day.
The government would also intervene to make it easier for small and independent retailers to enter the market by setting aside government-owned land and using overruling planning powers.
They would also build 12 state-owned fuel stations in areas where competition is most needed — the portion of the policy that has proven most controversial.
“A much more significant part of the package is the effort that we will put in to getting independents into the market, including analysing all of the state government land TMR owns (near major roads),” Mr Miles said.
“Many of those will be suitable for independents to operate new fuel stations and we will encourage them into the market.
“But we will also do what Queensland governments have always done when there is a market failure for an essential product and that is to build our own service stations as well.”
Mr Miles said the government would work to determine the most appropriate locations for the state-owned service stations based on which “individualised and local” markets require the most competition.
“(We will also look at) the need to over time ensure that we have a network of EV-charging stations, hydrogen refuelling stations and biodiesel refuelling stations,” he said.
He said the government had not yet decided if the locations would be announced before or after the election.
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Originally published as Steven Miles defends proposed state-owned service stations
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