1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,480
Speaker 1: We know that the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been

2
00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,360
Speaker 1: out this morning saying this, well, he wants the fuel

3
00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:11,320
Speaker 1: companies around Australia to do the right thing and service

4
00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,160
Speaker 1: stations to do the right thing by Australians and pass

5
00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,960
Speaker 1: on savings from falling oil prices amid warnings of price

6
00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,880
Speaker 1: gouging in small capital cities and in the diesel mark

7
00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,239
Speaker 1: at Now we also know that the COLP, the opposition

8
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,320
Speaker 1: leader Leo Fanocchiaro, this morning on the show well calling

9
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,360
Speaker 1: on the Chief Minister to show leadership and announce a

10
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,839
Speaker 1: formal inquiry into fuel prices in the Northern Territory. Now

11
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,880
Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now from the AAENTT

12
00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,360
Speaker 1: it is Eden Bell, who's the operations manager with the

13
00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,320
Speaker 1: aaan T. Good morning to you, Eden.

14
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,680
Speaker 2: Good morning, great to have you on the show.

15
00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,080
Speaker 1: Eden, tell us what you think right now about these

16
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,360
Speaker 1: petrol prices. Are they coming down in the way that

17
00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:55,160
Speaker 1: they should.

18
00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:01,640
Speaker 2: Be clearly not. What we have said ad is since

19
00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,240
Speaker 2: the end of June early July a continual fall of

20
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:11,600
Speaker 2: the Singapore parody price, hence the drop in terminal gay

21
00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,920
Speaker 2: price and so you RP that probably quits to about

22
00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,720
Speaker 2: thirty nine cent four for diesel. That's around about a

23
00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 2: forty six cents to elater four and from that and

24
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,640
Speaker 2: we're talking now probably a good six week period, five

25
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,400
Speaker 2: to six weeks since the drop's been occurring, and we've

26
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:32,800
Speaker 2: been fteen Unfortunately, they've only passed on fourteen cents in

27
00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,720
Speaker 2: the ULP and fifteen cent in diesel back on average.

28
00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:41,039
Speaker 2: So today, as we speak, we're still sitting above thirty

29
00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,840
Speaker 2: cents margins on average for both ULP and diesel, which

30
00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:46,120
Speaker 2: is just unacceptable.

31
00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,160
Speaker 1: It is unacceptable, and you know, it's something that we've

32
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,960
Speaker 1: been talking about in recent weeks. It's something that we've spoken,

33
00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,480
Speaker 1: you know, to Anthony Hill from the AA and T

34
00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,400
Speaker 1: about previously. And I think to begin with, you know,

35
00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,400
Speaker 1: everybody was pretty understanding. We all stood what was going

36
00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,520
Speaker 1: on in the Ukraine and the impact that that was having.

37
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,160
Speaker 1: But you know, right now, it just feels as though

38
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:09,840
Speaker 1: they're being unfair.

39
00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 2: To put it politely, I think that's been very polite.

40
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,799
Speaker 2: I mean, the reality is they set the precedent. Through

41
00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,120
Speaker 2: the whole of twenty twenty one, the margin average for

42
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,440
Speaker 2: ULP sat between sort of five to ten cents. It

43
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,720
Speaker 2: got it to twelve or thirteen cents at one point,

44
00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,960
Speaker 2: but that was a whole year with no other issues arising.

45
00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,079
Speaker 2: It just the market performed in a way that they

46
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,720
Speaker 2: passed back the same as in a timely manner. The excuses,

47
00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,120
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't think there's any reasonable excuse

48
00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,520
Speaker 2: as to why they've allowed now for the margins to

49
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,120
Speaker 2: exceed thirty forty cents. We're heading back to the days

50
00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,679
Speaker 2: when the fuel summit had to be called, yep, to

51
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:52,640
Speaker 2: bring these guys in the check. I mean, it's just

52
00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,200
Speaker 2: at a time when we've got rising inflation, rising costs.

53
00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,160
Speaker 2: There's no excuse to see why we're for any reason

54
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,200
Speaker 2: why they would be holding the margins as high as

55
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,560
Speaker 2: they are, even being giving them a little bit of

56
00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,320
Speaker 2: slack or cutting some slack if you would, even to

57
00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,480
Speaker 2: allow the time for the saving to pass through. That

58
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,959
Speaker 2: just doesn't pass the past the test at the moment

59
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:21,040
Speaker 2: we're talking six weeks has been falling continuously and yeah,

60
00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,160
Speaker 2: so for them to only have passed back forteen cents

61
00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,960
Speaker 2: at this point, it's just doesn't pass the pub test.

62
00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,760
Speaker 2: It's time that someone stood up and started rattling the cage. YEAHINUK,

63
00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,440
Speaker 2: we've been out there saying it, but the fuel operators

64
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,400
Speaker 2: need to do the right thing and start bringing the

65
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,240
Speaker 2: prices back in line with the precedent they set for

66
00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:39,440
Speaker 2: the twelve months previously.

67
00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on, and I'd tell you what, every

68
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,480
Speaker 1: territory and out there listening to this show definitely wants

69
00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,320
Speaker 1: to be rattling that cage Eden. I know that federally

70
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,520
Speaker 1: we've now got the Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers calling on

71
00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:57,000
Speaker 1: the fuel companies and fuel stations to be fair with Australians.

72
00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,080
Speaker 1: But what we are saying is that you know, we're

73
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,280
Speaker 1: here in the Northern Terror trace seemed to be copying

74
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,000
Speaker 1: it a lot worse than other states.

75
00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,920
Speaker 2: I don't think we've seen our pricing falling anywhere near

76
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,880
Speaker 2: where the other jurisdictions have been seeing. And so whilst

77
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,120
Speaker 2: we don't see the normal price cycles, as I say,

78
00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,440
Speaker 2: the fact that they're holding on to this high price

79
00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,560
Speaker 2: for so long it goes against the grain for everything

80
00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,680
Speaker 2: to say. They've said their own precedents through the whole

81
00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,840
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty one, and so the questions need to

82
00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,159
Speaker 2: be asked at the local fuel industry as to why

83
00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,120
Speaker 2: they feel it necessary that their pricing needs to sit

84
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 2: in the region where it's sitting now in above thirty senses.

85
00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,040
Speaker 2: It's just it's not appropriate and they need to start it.

86
00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,520
Speaker 2: Someone needs to pull the trigger. I think I was

87
00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,240
Speaker 2: listening to one of your other commentators a couple of

88
00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,599
Speaker 2: weeks back where he rightly puts someone sitting there making

89
00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,400
Speaker 2: a conscious decision as to what the pricing should be

90
00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,040
Speaker 2: in the market today. And so for the same brand

91
00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,560
Speaker 2: here in Darwin and the same brand in other major

92
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,800
Speaker 2: capital city, we're talking twenty thirty cents variation in their

93
00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,400
Speaker 2: pricing decision. So what's the reason. Absolutely probably good news

94
00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,640
Speaker 2: to see that we're seeing, at least at a federal

95
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,520
Speaker 2: level that they're recognizing that this is an issue. And

96
00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,360
Speaker 2: of course we're up against the fact that we're going

97
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:24,720
Speaker 2: to be seeing likely the tax come back back onto

98
00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,480
Speaker 2: the fuel pricing in the not too distant future. We've

99
00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:29,800
Speaker 2: got to get these fuel prices back in line to

100
00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,720
Speaker 2: where they ought to be, said on the precinct last year.

101
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,320
Speaker 2: And because we're going to take another hit again in

102
00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:36,080
Speaker 2: the coming months.

103
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,360
Speaker 1: Well, this is the thing Eden, you know, we're all

104
00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:40,920
Speaker 1: so worried about that hit that's coming, but we haven't

105
00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,760
Speaker 1: even seen the prices go down, as you've just pointed out. Now,

106
00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,240
Speaker 1: I know that the opposition leader Leofanocchiaro is calling on

107
00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:52,720
Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government to announce a formal inquiry into

108
00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,960
Speaker 1: fuel prices in the Northern Territory. Do you think that

109
00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:56,760
Speaker 1: needs to happen?

110
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,599
Speaker 2: Look, we absolutely believe that the current government needs to

111
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:04,440
Speaker 2: be out there knocking on the door of the industry

112
00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,840
Speaker 2: and asking the question why every day motorists, every day

113
00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,799
Speaker 2: people need some relief in terms of the cost of living.

114
00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,440
Speaker 2: And as I say, this is blatantly gouge when you

115
00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,599
Speaker 2: air when the market was operating previously. So what's the

116
00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,279
Speaker 2: reasoning behind it or what's the excuses they might sort

117
00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:24,560
Speaker 2: of bring forward. I think the challenge with fuel is

118
00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,080
Speaker 2: that everyone says, oh, there's all these moving parts, it's

119
00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,880
Speaker 2: very difficult to work out. The bottom line for me

120
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,320
Speaker 2: is it's pretty clear what you pay for the fuel

121
00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,360
Speaker 2: at the terminal gate and what you sell it for.

122
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,760
Speaker 2: We've got data to show where they operate their margins

123
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,360
Speaker 2: over the long term and as to what the benchmark is.

124
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,440
Speaker 2: Why today are they refusing or being stubborn in regards

125
00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:48,680
Speaker 2: to bringing back the price Whilst they've brought it back marginally,

126
00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:50,520
Speaker 2: They've got a long way to go to get it

127
00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,640
Speaker 2: back in line to know where it ought to be.

128
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:58,120
Speaker 2: So as of today, I think, you know, we're paying

129
00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,760
Speaker 2: way above where we should and time for some action,

130
00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,760
Speaker 2: and I would hope that the government steps in and

131
00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,520
Speaker 2: starts pushing the buttons, racking the cage to get some

132
00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,600
Speaker 2: answers and get some action happening to getting driving that

133
00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:12,320
Speaker 2: pricing down.

134
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,560
Speaker 1: Absolutely well. I am right there with you, Eden, I

135
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,840
Speaker 1: think that it needs to happen, and it needs to

136
00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,240
Speaker 1: happen sooner rather than later. I really appreciate your time

137
00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,200
Speaker 1: this morning. Thanks so much for having a chat with me.

138
00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:26,239
Speaker 2: No promadore, thank you