A petrol price-fixing cartel had existed amongst petroleum distributors and retailers in the Ballarat region in 1999-2000, the Federal Court has found today.
Justice Ron Merkel found the distributors and retailers were in breach of section 45 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against 16 respondents, alleging a number of competitors in the Ballarat region took part in a long-standing arrangement to fix retail petrol prices.
The ACCC has sought penalties in respect of up to 69 occasions on which it alleged up to eight companies gave effect to the arrangement between June 1999 and December 2000.
Today's finding is in respect of the seven respondents that contested the proceedings:
Triton 2001 Pty Ltd and its Ballarat Area Manager
Brumar (Vic) Pty Ltd and its Area Manager
Apco Service Stations Pty Ltd and its Director and
Cavallo Volante Pty Ltd (formerly known as Balgee Oil Pty Ltd) (Subject to Deed of Company Arrangement).
Handing down his judgment Justice Merkel said: "I have concluded that the ACCC has established that Triton, Apco, Brumar and Balgee contravened s 45(2)(a)(ii) by arriving at the price-fixing understanding and contravened s 45(2)(b)(ii) by giving effect to the understanding during the relevant period on 45 occasions, 29 occasions, 53 occasions and 68 occasions respectively. I have also concluded that Rosenow, Anderson and Dalton were persons who were involved in each of the contraventions by their respective corporate principals".
He further said: "The contraventions, which involve serious and on-going breaches of important provisions of the Act, resulted in the price of petrol in Ballarat being the subject of a cartel type of arrangement or understanding over a substantial period of time. It was an arrangement or understanding that led to the public paying higher retail prices for petrol than they would have paid if the prices had been determined by market forces, rather than by a collusive arrangement between competitors".
The remaining nine respondents made admissions before the trial and are subject to separate penalty hearings before Justice Goldberg. Judgment has been reserved.
A penalty hearing in relation to the contesting respondents is scheduled for 7 March 2005.
Release # MR 290/04
Issued: 17th December 2004
Background
On 21 May 2002 the ACCC instituted proceedings against a total of 14 companies and individuals, alleging a long-standing price-fixing arrangement existed in the market for the supply of petrol in the Ballarat region. On 20 December 2002, the Federal Court granted the ACCC leave to join two further respondents. The legal action commenced after an extensive investigation by the ACCC which first commenced following allegations by Mr Trevor Oliver, a service station operator in Buangor who was at the time supplied by one of the alleged participants.
The ACCC alleged the companies arranged to increase prices by telephoning each other, communicating the size and approximate time of price rises and then contacting retail sites to implement the rises. The ACCC alleged when a company became aware that a service station had not raised its price, further calls were made to participants in order to have the site raise its prices. The ACCC also alleged the arrangement involved a number of meetings.
