The ACCC is taking action to try to close down a website where petrol retailers share information about pump prices.
It would seem that the site, which is a private members site, goes as far as to share information about proposed price changes.
The ACCC believes that this is collusion and against the public interest. It prevents proper competition and so means petrol prices are higher than they would otherwise be.
It should not be a surprise that an oligopoly market structure like petrol retailing leads to some sort of interdependency. But is this collusion? The counter claim is that the information shared is available in large, neon, signs outside petrol stations. Also the nature of the market means that firms charge similar prices and those prices move together.
It is very hard to see if this is collusion or just normal oligopoly behaviour (tacit price leadership). The case will depend on if price changes are discussed in advance. Then it is collusion and there is plenty of case law to support this as the sharing of the information clearly jointly benefits firms interests and works against consumer interests.
Great example if required for the upcoming exam.
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