Fuel Price Monitoring

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:01): My question is to the Attorney-General. When will the government release the report of the South Australian Productivity Commission into fuel price monitoring? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain my question.

Leave granted.

Ms BEDFORD: I believe releasing the report would better inform members and enable the parliament to proceed with debate on legislation to ensure South Australian motorists have true real-time information on where the cheapest petrol is available, notwithstanding the remarkable prices for petrol we are seeing at the moment.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (15:01): I thank the member for her question who is ever vigilant in this space and who has made the observation that, if there is one advantage and only one out of COVID-19, we have had very much cheaper petrol prices.

The Productivity Commission report that has been referred to by the member is indeed reportable to the Premier, and that has been received. I just remind members that they were given the express request to investigate options for fuel price monitoring services—including around Australia—to see how we could best come up with a contemporary and effective service, bearing in mind there have been a number of these reviews. There have been a number of different models represented around the country.

The member herself has been proactively promoting the Western Australian model and indeed has put a sort of hybrid of that to the parliament for our consideration. I think that's a great interest to have because this is a very important service and cost in the household budget to everyone in South Australia, whether they own their own car, they are using someone else's or indeed they are using public transport. Fuel is a very necessary part of that.

It has been provided. We have considered it. It has put a recommendation that is under review by the department of Consumer and Business Services, which has the responsibility for this, and we hope to have something to present to the parliament in the very near future.