The WA government is weighing up whether to use its unique power to temporarily cap the price of petrol to stop gouging from retailers, as leaders hold an urgent meeting to discuss exorbitant hikes in the cost of fuel amid the Middle East war.
The cost of unleaded petrol in Perth has risen by 63.4 cents per litre in just a week amid massive volatility in the global oil price since US and Israeli strikes on Iran ignited war on February 28.
Motorists were paying an average of $2.27 per litre on Wednesday, with some fuel stations charging up to $2.45.
The WA government has urged motorists to “shop around” for cheaper fuel, maintaining there are no direct impacts to supply as a result of the war and blaming the increased demand on panic buying.
The premier and key government ministers will meet with fuel industry representatives on Wednesday afternoon in an urgent meeting dubbed a ‘fuel security roundtable’.
“Nothing’s off the table,” Attorney General Tony Buti said on Wednesday morning.
“But the focus for today is to listen to the various stakeholders including the petrol outlets … farmers, transport people.”
Mr Buti said the meeting will “hopefully” make clear there is no supply shortage, but instead increased demand because of panic buying by motorists.
Price cap possible
One of the potential interventions expected to be discussed is a mechanism the government can use to cap pricing.
In WA, a unique law allows the state government to enforce price fixing measures to prevent gouging from fuel retailers.
“We are looking closely at that, but we need to understand any potential unintended consequences here, and any potential disruption that that may cause,” Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said on Tuesday.
Premier Roger Cook said the laws were passed in a “bygone era” when muster stations were abusing their position in the fuel market.
“Obviously, it does provide us with an opportunity to set a max, but what happens is that everyone just goes to the maximum price,” he said.
“And then you distort the market, and then you create other disruptions to the supply chain.”
On Wednesday morning, Mr Buti would not rule anything out.
“We’ve had conversations about every option that’s available,” he said.
Price controls on fuel have not been implemented since WA’s fuel price comparison website FuelWatch was launched in 2001.
‘Shop around’
Mr Buti said the best way for motorists to avoid high pricing is to “shop around”, but said there was “no evidence” of price gouging.
He noted some regional towns were selling fuel cheaper than Perth on Wednesday.
But the situation was impacting farmers.
Kojonup farmer Gordon Coleman said he purchased a 20,000 litre fuel tank during the pandemic but has been told, just two weeks from his planned seeding this year, he could only acquire 10 per cent of that capacity from his supplier.
“They’re [the government] saying there’s no shortage, no issues, whereas the reality that we’re seeing for several days now is the opposite,” he said.
“We’re being told from our suppliers from above them that there are restrictions on what they’re getting.”
Amy Dyer said operations at her mixed crop and sheep farm near Manjimup have been disrupted due to diesel supply uncertainty.
“The big decision that we are having to make, along with everyone else, is whether or not we go ahead with seeding,” she said.
Opposition wants clarity
Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas urged Mr Cook to “come clean” on the extent of the problem and what action the government is considering.
“Tell us the situation — what are our fuel supplies like, are we in danger of running out?” Mr Zempilas said.
“If we are in danger of running out, or need to ration fuel, how is that going to be managed?”
Extracted in full from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-11/wa-government-weighing-up-petrol-price-cap-perth-panic-buying/106441006
