Service stations will be ordered to set daily price limits and report it to the Victorian government under a bold plan from premier Jacinta Allan to try and ease the cost of living. The market intervention has won some support because it will give motorists a better idea of where to fill up cheaply, but there's warnings it may have unintended consequences.
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00:00Filling up is one of life's regular and expensive necessities that fluctuates all too often.
00:07I can't believe when I fill up, sometimes it can be $100 when I fill my tank.
00:12I'd wish it was a little bit cheaper.
00:14Melbournians were paying around $1.84 for unleaded today.
00:17In some places it was tipping over $2 a litre.
00:20The cheapest was $1.59.
00:22That's a difference of $20 to fill up an average car.
00:25Premier Jacinta Allen is hoping to put motorists back in the driver's seat.
00:29And we're going to cap and lock those fuel prices.
00:32The government will force more than 1,500 retailers to report their price every day
00:37and they won't be able to increase it for 24 hours.
00:40It will all be reported live on the Services Victoria app.
00:44I think that would be really, really helpful to a lot of people,
00:47especially people who are doing it really tough at the moment.
00:50After 24 hours it's where they want it to be anyway.
00:53So I think it's just tinkering at the edges really.
00:57Heaven Raid promised a similar scheme but failed to get it through Parliament.
01:00Western Australia requires retailers to lock in a price.
01:04This plan will require legislation.
01:06And the Premier will consult with the industry,
01:08including on penalties for those who break the rules.
01:11This isn't about punishing retailers.
01:13This is about helping motorists.
01:14This is about helping households and motorists.
01:17All it is doing is adding an extra layer of bureaucracy
01:20that in the end Victorians have to pay for.
01:22The government's really going to have to tread carefully.
01:25More transparency is welcomed,
01:27but some experts and industry figures are warning it may put the brakes on discounts.
01:32That may potentially see the average price increase.
01:35Cost of living is the first, second and third top issue for voters.
01:39So it's little surprise that Jacinta Allen has returned from her summer holiday
01:43with this policy pitch,
01:45as Labor tries to hold her onto the seat of Werribee at next month's by-election.
01:49And already it's bracing for a swing.