Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / AANT Operations Manager Edon Bell says the NT Government needs to seek answers from fuel retailers about why prices have remined high

Transcript

AANT Operations Manager Edon Bell says the NT Government needs to seek answers from fuel retailers about why prices have remined high · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: out this morning saying this, well, he wants the fuel
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: companies around Australia to do the right thing and service
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: stations to do the right thing by Australians and pass
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: on savings from falling oil prices amid warnings of price
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: gouging in small capital cities and in the diesel mark
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: at Now we also know that the COLP, the opposition
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: leader Leo Fanocchiaro, this morning on the show well calling
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: on the Chief Minister to show leadership and announce a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: formal inquiry into fuel prices in the Northern Territory. Now
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  Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now from the AAENTT
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: it is Eden Bell, who's the operations manager with the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: aaan T. Good morning to you, Eden.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Good morning, great to have you on the show.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Eden, tell us what you think right now about these
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: petrol prices. Are they coming down in the way that
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: they should.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Be clearly not. What we have said ad is since
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the end of June early July a continual fall of
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: the Singapore parody price, hence the drop in terminal gay
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: price and so you RP that probably quits to about
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: thirty nine cent four for diesel. That's around about a
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: forty six cents to elater four and from that and
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: we're talking now probably a good six week period, five
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: to six weeks since the drop's been occurring, and we've
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: been fteen Unfortunately, they've only passed on fourteen cents in
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: the ULP and fifteen cent in diesel back on average.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: So today, as we speak, we're still sitting above thirty
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: cents margins on average for both ULP and diesel, which
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: is just unacceptable.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: It is unacceptable, and you know, it's something that we've
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: been talking about in recent weeks. It's something that we've spoken,
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: you know, to Anthony Hill from the AA and T
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: about previously. And I think to begin with, you know,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: everybody was pretty understanding. We all stood what was going
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: on in the Ukraine and the impact that that was having.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: But you know, right now, it just feels as though
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: they're being unfair.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: To put it politely, I think that's been very polite.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, the reality is they set the precedent. Through
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: the whole of twenty twenty one, the margin average for
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: ULP sat between sort of five to ten cents. It
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: got it to twelve or thirteen cents at one point,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: but that was a whole year with no other issues arising.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: It just the market performed in a way that they
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: passed back the same as in a timely manner. The excuses,
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't think there's any reasonable excuse
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: as to why they've allowed now for the margins to
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: exceed thirty forty cents. We're heading back to the days
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: when the fuel summit had to be called, yep, to
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: bring these guys in the check. I mean, it's just
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: at a time when we've got rising inflation, rising costs.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: There's no excuse to see why we're for any reason
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: why they would be holding the margins as high as
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: they are, even being giving them a little bit of
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: slack or cutting some slack if you would, even to
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: allow the time for the saving to pass through. That
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: just doesn't pass the past the test at the moment
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: we're talking six weeks has been falling continuously and yeah,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: so for them to only have passed back forteen cents
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: at this point, it's just doesn't pass the pub test.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: It's time that someone stood up and started rattling the cage. YEAHINUK,
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  Speaker 2: we've been out there saying it, but the fuel operators
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: need to do the right thing and start bringing the
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: prices back in line with the precedent they set for
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: the twelve months previously.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on, and I'd tell you what, every
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: territory and out there listening to this show definitely wants
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: to be rattling that cage Eden. I know that federally
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: we've now got the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers calling on
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: the fuel companies and fuel stations to be fair with Australians.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: But what we are saying is that you know, we're
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Terror trace seemed to be copying
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: it a lot worse than other states.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: I don't think we've seen our pricing falling anywhere near
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: where the other jurisdictions have been seeing. And so whilst
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: we don't see the normal price cycles, as I say,
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: the fact that they're holding on to this high price
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: for so long it goes against the grain for everything
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: to say. They've said their own precedents through the whole
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: of twenty twenty one, and so the questions need to
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: be asked at the local fuel industry as to why
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: they feel it necessary that their pricing needs to sit
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: in the region where it's sitting now in above thirty senses.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: It's just it's not appropriate and they need to start it.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Someone needs to pull the trigger. I think I was
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: listening to one of your other commentators a couple of
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: weeks back where he rightly puts someone sitting there making
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: a conscious decision as to what the pricing should be
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: in the market today. And so for the same brand
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: here in Darwin and the same brand in other major
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: capital city, we're talking twenty thirty cents variation in their
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: pricing decision. So what's the reason. Absolutely probably good news
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: to see that we're seeing, at least at a federal
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: level that they're recognizing that this is an issue. And
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: of course we're up against the fact that we're going
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: to be seeing likely the tax come back back onto
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: the fuel pricing in the not too distant future. We've
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: got to get these fuel prices back in line to
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: where they ought to be, said on the precinct last year.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: And because we're going to take another hit again in
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: the coming months.
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  Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing Eden, you know, we're all
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: so worried about that hit that's coming, but we haven't
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: even seen the prices go down, as you've just pointed out. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I know that the opposition leader Leofanocchiaro is calling on
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government to announce a formal inquiry into
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: fuel prices in the Northern Territory. Do you think that
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: needs to happen?
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Look, we absolutely believe that the current government needs to
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: be out there knocking on the door of the industry
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: and asking the question why every day motorists, every day
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: people need some relief in terms of the cost of living.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: And as I say, this is blatantly gouge when you
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: air when the market was operating previously. So what's the
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: reasoning behind it or what's the excuses they might sort
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: of bring forward. I think the challenge with fuel is
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: that everyone says, oh, there's all these moving parts, it's
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: very difficult to work out. The bottom line for me
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: is it's pretty clear what you pay for the fuel
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: at the terminal gate and what you sell it for.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: We've got data to show where they operate their margins
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: over the long term and as to what the benchmark is.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Why today are they refusing or being stubborn in regards
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: to bringing back the price Whilst they've brought it back marginally,
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  Speaker 2: They've got a long way to go to get it
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  Speaker 2: back in line to know where it ought to be.
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: So as of today, I think, you know, we're paying
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: way above where we should and time for some action,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and I would hope that the government steps in and
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: starts pushing the buttons, racking the cage to get some
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: answers and get some action happening to getting driving that
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: pricing down.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Absolutely well. I am right there with you, Eden, I
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: think that it needs to happen, and it needs to
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: happen sooner rather than later. I really appreciate your time
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: this morning. Thanks so much for having a chat with me.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: No promadore, thank you