Page 1865 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 14 June 1994
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(3) the taking of still photographs during the presentation of the Appropriation Bill 1994-95 today and the Leader of the Opposition's speech on the resumption of the debate on Thursday, 16 June 1994, and subsequent debate on the question "That the Bill be agreed to in principle", and the use of such photographs in the print media generally.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Petrol Prices
MRS CARNELL: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is to the Attorney-General, Mr Connolly. Is the Minister aware that the wholesale price of petrol approved by the Prices Surveillance Authority last week was 69.62c per litre? Last week the Minister criticised service stations for raising their prices from 69.9c per litre to 73.9c per litre. I ask the Minister: How is a service station meant to keep operating with a retail margin of 0.28c per litre?
MR CONNOLLY: I thank the defender of the cartels for rising in this place and once again showing the Liberal Party's opposition to what the Government has done on petrol pricing. I was pleased to see the note of absolute glee in Mr Humphries's press release saying that the Government has lost the battle on petrol pricing; the Government has lost out; the price has gone up to 73.9c; the Government has failed totally. There was absolute glee from members of the Opposition when those prices went up.
I was roundly criticised by members of the Opposition and, I must say, by the Canberra Times for taking on the oil companies. I read with interest the Canberra Times editorial on Saturday morning which said, "Mr Connolly should desist". Admittedly, it acknowledged that we had done the right thing in introducing independents in the sense of introducing Burmah, and it indicated that we had done the right thing in introducing three additional independents. It said, though, that we should not introduce any more - indeed, we had said that we were not introducing any more, so I am happy with this - and it said that I should desist from public comments in this area. I noted that, as the Canberra Times was being delivered on my doorstep, the price of petrol had come down. By Saturday morning, across Canberra, the price of petrol had been reduced again to 69.9c. If members opposite had had their way it would still be hovering in the mid-seventies.
Madam Speaker, in answering the question, the point is that I object not to the absolute price of petrol in Canberra, but to the disparity between Canberra and Sydney prices. What Shell Oil said on Tuesday was that they had made a conscious decision to withdraw discounting in the Canberra market and to continue it in the Sydney market. How petrol companies can make a profit, Mrs Carnell, is by their suppliers treating this market - - -
Mrs Carnell: No; I did not ask about petrol companies.
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