Speaking at a petrol industry forum this week, Mr Macfarlane called for significant reform of the industry and its pricing and distribution system.
Mr Macfarlane also called for existing regulations to be scrapped and replaced with a new oil code,and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission given additional powers to police instances of predatory pricing and the misuse of market power by suppliers.
The Industry Minister’s comments followed a gathering of industry representatives in Canberra on Tuesday, when service stations and oil companies put the case for significant reform of the industry.
The AIP, which represents Australia’s oil majors, said it would approach Macfarlane’s comments with an “open mind”, and said the forum had delivered some constructive first steps to dealing with a difficult impasse between service stations operators and their suppliers.
