Major fuel price promise that will affect millions of Aussie drivers

The Queensland Premier has announced a new fuel measure that will affect millions of drivers if he's re-elected in October. Steven Miles said his government would establish state-owned fuel stations and introduce a cap on daily fuel price increases.

The leader believes this will drive down prices for residents across the state because privately-owned petrol stations would be forced to compete with the government's offering. He said 12 stations would be built and would provide petrol, diesel and electric chargers.

"They will charge a fair price, increase competition, and give Queenslanders more choice when filling up," he said.

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"We will also ban petrol stations from raising their price more than once a day, require petrol stations to release price changes a day in advance [and] cap price increases to no more than 5 cents [per litre] a day, as part of a trial with the RACQ."

Miles said the publicly-owned stations would operate on a "cost-recovery" basis, which is when a business recognises revenue and cost of sales for each transaction but won't immediately count the profit.

The location of the stations will be determined by the government where competition is most needed to prevent the "big petrol players" from gouging Queensland motorists.

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“The costs associated with owning and driving a car can add up. But most Queenslanders, especially in the regions, need a car to get around, drop the kids at school or to do their work," Miles said.

“It’s not a simple issue to fix. We don’t control global oil prices and we can’t force privately owned petrol retailers to charge less at the bowser, but a government I lead will do whatever we can to bring petrol prices down."

What have the reactions been to the idea?

The opposition has absolutely ripped into the idea and likened it to "economic vandalism".

"This is the dumbest policy I have seen from a Queensland premier," Deputy opposition leader Jarrod Bleijie said in a statement. "Where did this come from?

"[Miles] will wipe out independent retailers, therefore creating less competition in the marketplace, therefore driving up petrol prices for Queenslanders."

Liberal-National leader David Crisafulli also didn't hold back when assessing the concept.

"This is a level of desperation I thought I'd never see from any government in Queensland," he said.

"When the state government can't deliver the services it's responsible for, it now wants to deliver service stations ... it's fanciful."

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) is backing the plan to cap daily petrol price fluctuations but wants to look at the state-owned fuel stations project with more detail.

"We are confident that if we can lessen the impact of the fuel cycle, if we can shorten the duration of the fuel cycle and encourage greater competition, that people will pay less for their fuel than they currently pay," RACQ chief executive David Carter explained.

A service station body warned the state-owned stations will not "shift the dial" on petrol prices.

"Tax-payer funded entry into the competitive, low-margin fuel market is a bold and risky use of Queensland taxpayer fund," Australian Convenience and Petroleum Markets Association CEO Mark McKenzie said.

"Why stop at service stations? Why not car insurance, home insurance and supermarkets."

The National Retail Association warned the state-owned fuel stations will not be a "silver bullet" for the large state and raised concerns it will push independent stores out of the market by taxpayer-funded competition.

- with AAP

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