The Treasurer has revealed he鈥檚 now written to the consumer watchdog to 鈥渕ake sure that Australians are treated fairly at the bowser鈥.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to see service stations do the wrong thing by Australian motorists,鈥欌 he said.
鈥淲e want to make sure that the market is operating effectively when it comes to the petrol price and what鈥檚 happening with this volatility in the global oil price.
鈥淲e call on the service stations to do the right thing by their customers. We鈥檝e empowered and asked the ACCC to use its monitoring powers to make sure that the servos are doing the right thing by Australian motorists.鈥
In his letter to the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, Mr Chalmers notes that events in the Middle East had pushed global oil prices up by over 25 per cent since the start of June, from around $62 per barrel to around $79 at the start of this week, before moderating this morning with news of a ceasefire.
鈥淎s you know, global oil prices are a primary driver of the cost of petrol at Australian bowsers,鈥欌 he wrote.
鈥淩ecent spikes in the barrel price on international markets and volatility associated with unfolding events should not be used as an excuse for retailers to gouge customers or to increase prices opportunistically above and beyond the impact of events in the Middle East.
鈥淚 would expect the ACCC as the independent regulator enforcing Australia鈥檚 competition and consumer laws to investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anti-competitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action.鈥
Last week, the Treasurer warned Australians could face a 鈥減erilous鈥 threat to fuel prices as global supply chains are at risk from the heated Iran-Israel conflict.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a perilous moment for the Middle East, but also a perilous moment for the global economy,鈥 he told Sky News.
鈥淭he starkest way that we see the impacts of what鈥檚 happening is with the oil price. Last Friday, the oil price jumped almost 11 per cent.
鈥淭his has big implications for the global economy. It has implications for inflation but also for global growth at a time when the global environment was already very uncertain.鈥
He warned motorists should expect volatility.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine that any day-to-day movement in markets will be permanent,鈥 the Treasurer said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing mostly volatility in the oil price. We鈥檙e seeing the gold price shoot up because that鈥檚 where people invest when times are uncertain.
鈥淲hat that means for us is the potential of higher petrol prices usually takes a couple of weeks before the international barrel price reaches the bowser price in the suburbs and towns of Australia.鈥
However, he also ruled out making any changes to the fuel excise to reduce the pressure on motorists.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 changed our position on the fuel excise,鈥 Mr Chalmers said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e already seen a lot of volatility in petrol prices. In some parts of Australia, people must have been 鈥 12 months ago, 18 months ago 鈥 paying $2.40 at the bowser in lots of places.
鈥淭hat got down to $1.50, $1 60.鈥