Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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PETROLEUM RETAIL MARKETING SITES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 2) 1999 NO. 163

Statutory Rules 1999 No. 163

Issued by the authority of the Minister for industry, Science and Resources

Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Act 1980

Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2)

Section 15 of the Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Act 1980 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Section 12 of the Act provides a person with the right to obtain an injunction when a prescribed oil company (oil company named in the regulations) operates above its quota of retail sites. Section 12 is the only provision in the Act where a possibility of a private right exists.

The Act is designed to restrain vertical integration (ie. firms producing related goods and services in a supply chain) by the major oil companies, in order to encourage competition between resellers at the retail level. The Act establishes quotas on the number of retail outlets which each company may directly operate.

The Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Regulations ("the principal Regulations") are amended to allow a temporary increase in BP Australia Ltd's allocation from 102 to 212 sites for the period 1 June 1999 to 30 September 1999. BP Australia Ltd already has a temporary increase in their allocation from 87 to 102 sites for the period up to 30 June 1999.

The term "retail site" is defined in Section 3, the Interpretation Section of the Act, as "premises at which motor fuel is sold by retail", in other words, a petrol station which sells petrol in retail trade.

The site increase is to operate retrospectively from 1 June 1999 to coincide with the date at which BP Australia Limited exceeded its quota because it was unwilling to re-franchise a large number of sites immediately prior to the proposed repeal of the Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Act 1980 as this would place BP at a serious competitive and financial disadvantage. The Petroleum Retail Legislation Repeal Bill 1998 is currently before the Senate.

The reason for the temporary increase in quota is to enable BP Australia Limited to maintain its current temporary management arrangements for these sites until the Senate finalises consideration of the Bill.

The operative part of the amendment (regulation 3) commences retrospectively to 1 June 1999.

Subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the Interpretation Act) provides that a retrospective regulation may not adversely affect the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth).

The Attorney-General's Department is of the view that the right to obtain an, injunction conferred by section 12 of the Act is unlikely to constitute a "right" for the purpose of section 48(2)(a) of the Interpretation Act.