Tasmania seeks ACCC probe into fuel pump prices
The Tasmanian Government wants the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to launch an immediate investigation into fuel prices in the state.
The consumer watchdog now has the capacity to investigate fuel prices in certain regions in Australia.
Acting Treasurer Jeremy Rockliff has wasted no time asking the commission to investigate pricing in Tasmania.
Mr Rockliff said high fuel prices were a particular burden on households and businesses.
He said the costs of shipping fuel to Tasmania did not explain why the margin between terminal gate prices and retail prices in Tasmania was about twice the national average.
"Current figures suggest this margin is about 20 cents a litre in Hobart, more than twice the national average, which we understand to be eight to 10 cents a litre," he said in a statement.
"We are also concerned by anecdotal reports that reductions in global oil prices are not passed on in full or are passed on at a slower rate than any increases."
On Wednesday, the ACCC gained new powers to monitor prices and release quarterly rather than annual reports.
It also planned to do four "deep dive" investigations into markets that had unexplained high prices.
Tasmania's main motoring body, the RACT, has long lobbied for a probe, saying retailers consistently failed to pass on savings at the bowser.
