Simon Parham: Waitomo Group CEO on the Commerce Commission calling out fuel prices ahead of the removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax

A fuel retailer's applauding the Commerce Commission for raising awareness about prices at the pump ahead of the removal of Auckland's fuel tax. 

The commission's calling out retailers who lag in dropping prices at the pump, saying it's costing motorists millions each year. 

It says it's a timely reminder, with the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax being removed at the end of this month. 

Waitomo Group Chief Executive Simon Parham told Mike Hosking that they can't wait for it to be scrapped. 

He says it was poorly thought-out tax and it's created complexity for both customers and themselves. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's the move from the government yesterday for farmers, the
ets hey wakinos and the burden Thank goodness, common sensors
back in town. How they solved the problem. Of course,
it's the big questions. So we'll talk more about that
before six million time. At five twenty, it's the old story,
I guess, isn't it. The ComCom comes and tells us
the fuel companies can't wait to get those prices up.
They're lots larwer to bring them down. According to the calculations,
that costs us the motorist about fifteen million dollars a year. Now.

(00:22):
Simon Parham is the Wye Tomo Group chief executive and
is with us Simon morning to you what any of
Mike ComCom right or not or I.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Can't comment on my competitive activities. But at white time
we're a little different because we get a weekly price,
so we set our price weekly and if we have
to drop that through the week, we make that call
through the week. I think it's more the ComCom raising
awen it's ahead of the Auckland fuel tax or regional
fuel touch removal at the endless month.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Right, So they're playing a game whereby when it comes
at the end of the month instantly, because it's a tax,
the price will drop at one minute past midnight or whatever.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
That's what they're saying, right, Yes, absolutely, and that's you
know for us, we can't wait to remove it. We
thought it was sort of poorly out, poorly thought out,
rushed in sort of tax at the time, and it's
just created complexity for our customers and for ourselves, So
we're looking forward to getting rid of it as soon
as we can.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Indeed, do you price differently generally speaking? Do you price
differently from the other big players?

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, well, I guess where we operate at the end
of the market. You know, our customers are hype aware
of price, so we're always operating in that really competitive
area of the pricing spectrum. So we have to be
on the market in every region we operate, otherwise we're
out of the market. And I think that comes from
the ComCom report that they issued in April and that

(01:41):
unattended operators such as waititomo. Not only do we drop
prices when we enter the market, but more important, we
keep prices down. So I want to be focusing on
that fifteen million that they think is lost. It's come
to come to places like White Time because I know
that we probably delivered five times at per annum and
the areas that we operate.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
See, this is the thing because I walk a fine line.
I don't wanted to think the oil industry or anything
like that. But it's not like you can't shop around that.
It's not like you haven't got gaspee. It's not like
there aren't a variation of prices out there. That's fair,
isn't it?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
It's fair, And I think competition is only going to
grow that We've got twenty three sites in our pipeline,
so we're atching to get into new places across New Zealand.
So I'd say that customers don't get sucked in by
debate advertising, look at the net price because that's a
true test of competitiveness, not just a tense set to
lead a discount.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Has anything their whole market study and their intervention and
not only this area but other is has anything you know,
literal come out of this? Are we better off in
any way, shape or form.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yeah, I think we are. Like there's definitely from our
perspective as a distributor or a reseller of product, we
see that market has been more competitive. We're getting more
transparent pricing so that we can we can test them
and I think, you know, we can sleep at night
because because of that transparency and they know that we
can part on any savings that we get to the pump.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
See how much do you reckon as actually? I mean
we all moan about it, of course. How much of
it's reliant on laziness? In other words, yes, I could
go and shop and find it and do some homework
if I wanted to, But this guy's round the corner,
and the price is what it is, and I'm prepared
to pay it, And that's the truth of it all.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, well, a lot of it. Sometimes people just have
to break their habits, you know. I always sort of
call it, you know, sometimes you just got to change
the wallpaper and then people will notice it. And that's
why we're seeing more and more cusses coming to Waitana,
especially when it's a cost of living crisis. People are
looking for a deal. So get out there and look
around and look for those deals. And I think people

(03:38):
pleasantly surprised.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
So you can't argue with that advice. Go well, Simon,
appreciate it very much. Simon Perum for more from News
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