Australia Boycotts Service Stations

SYDNEY – On October 26 and 27, Australian service stations experienced a boycott. Nearly 80,000 people said they were “attending” the boycott, according to the Facebook protest, and another 70,000 said they were “interested.”

The boycott had no detectable impact on fuel volumes or convenience store sales, according to ACAPMAg, the publication of the Australian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association. However, it does reflect a growing societal concern about fuel prices.

A 44% increase in the international price of crude oil and a 10% devaluation in the Australian dollar in the past year have increased the international price of petrol purchased the Singapore refinery. Together, these circumstances effect the price at the pump for Australian motorists.

The protest prompted a few members of the Australian Member of Parliaments to take action. Calls have been made to reduce the federal fuel excise tax, for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to be more assertive on the fuel industry and for the Coalition Government to consider a divestiture of assets by fuel businesses.

None of these suggested fixes are viable, according to ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie. “While community concern over petrol prices is perfectly understandable, the most disappointing aspect of this most recent debate—and in fact all recent debates about petrol pricing—is the lack of basic knowledge about the factors that contribute to retail prices in Australia despite the extensive information that is available,” he said.

“Our industry is not afraid of having a meaningful debate about petrol prices, petrol taxes and associated policies—nor have we ever been in the past,” McKenzie said. “What we are afraid of is ill-informed, knee-jerk policy decisions that risk destruction of the economic value of this major Australian industry—potentially putting at risk the livelihood of the 76,000 Australians that work within it.”

Global