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June 15, 2024 2 mins

Banking and fuel reviews have been in the news this week, and while it has been all good intentions from the Government - it remains difficult to believe we’ll see any substantial change.   

Opposition parties will always complain about the number of inquiries or reviews a Government or Crown entity does, but when they come to power they quickly do the same. Either way, it’s hard to get excited about them.  

This week, the Commerce Commission released its latest analysis on fuel companies and their pricing, announcing that retailers are quick to increase fuel prices when costs go up, but slower to bring prices down when costs decline. It’s known as the rocket-feather approach. Prices rocket up and then float down gently like a feather.  

If you put fuel in a car you already know this. But it was interesting to hear the commission put a figure on it - motorists would benefit by around $15 million a year if fuel companies were to drop prices as quickly as they increased them.  

It’s a timely conversation, because the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax comes to an end at midnight on June 30th, and motorists are expecting that 11.5 cents to come off the price at the pumps immediately.  

I think any fuel company with a marketing department and interest in customer loyalty will be working hard to make this happen.  

But I doubt the Commerce Commission’s general warning that it will keep a close watch on the pricing tactics of fuel companies in future will make any difference.   

If you want cheaper petrol then use the station apps, GASPY, or fill up at unmanned stations.  

Banking was also in the firing line this week, with Finance Minister Nicola Willis announcing an inquiry into banking competition, with a focus on rural banking.   

The inquiry, which will be undertaken by the Finance and Expenditure and Primary Production Committees will examine the state of competition in the banking sector, barriers preventing further competition, and any possible impact of the regulatory environment on competition and efficient access to lending.  

Nicola Willis believes this will benefit us all, and yes, we’d love to see more competition in banking. So out of pure optimism I’m hoping we see some changes that benefit the customer - but once again I won’t be holding my breath for any significant changes. 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks'b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Banking and fuel reviews have been in the news this week,
and while it's been all good intentions from the government,
it remains difficult to believe we'll see any substantial change.
Opposition parties will always complain about the number of inquiries
or reviews a government or Crown industry does, but when
they come to power they quickly do the same. Either way,
it's hard to get excited about them. This week, the

(00:35):
Commerce Commission released its latest analysis on fuel companies and
their pricing, announcing that retailers are quick to increase fuel
prices when costs go up, but slowber to bring prices
down when costs decline. It's known as that rocket feather approach.
Prices rocket up and then they float down gently like
a feather for a long period of time. I think

(00:56):
if you put fuel in a car, you already know this,
but it was interesting to hear the Commission put a
figure on it. Motorists would benefit by around fifteen million
a year of fuel companies to drop prices as quickly
as they increase them, and of course this is a
timely conversation because the Auckland regional fuel tax comes off
or it comes to an end at midnight on June thirtieth,

(01:17):
and motorists are expecting that eleven point five cents to
come off the price at the pumps immediately. And I
think that any fuel company with a marketing department and
an interest in customer loyalty will be working hard to
make this happen. But I doubt that the Commerce Commission's
general warning that it will keep a close watch on
the pricing tactics of fuel companies in the future will

(01:39):
make any major difference. If you want cheaper petrol, then
use the station apps, gasby or fill up at an
unmanned stations. Banking was also in the firing line this
week and with Finance Minister Nichola Willis announcing an inquiry
into banking competition with a focus on rural banking. The
inquiry will be which will be undertaken by the Finance

(02:00):
and Expenditure and Primary Production Committees are going to examine
the state of competition in the banking sector and look
at the barriers preventing further competition and any possible impact
of the regulatory environment. On competition and efficient access to lending.
Nichola Willis believes this will benefit us all, and yes,
we would love to see more competition in banking, so

(02:20):
out of pure optimism, I'm hoping we see some changes
that benefit the customer, but once again, I won't be
holding my breath for any significant changes.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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