Government-owned petrol stations will not be set up in the ACT despite high prices, with Chief Minister Andrew Barr instead eager to help motorists away from their reliance on the internal combustion engine.
The Queensland Labor Premier, Steven Miles, has promised to establish state-owned petrol stations and cap petrol prices if his government is re-elected on October 26.
But Mr Barr sidestepped the question of whether he would adopt a similar policy ahead of the ACT election on October 19, despite his long-running efforts to drive down fuel prices in Canberra.
"Labor expects Canberra fuel prices to be at or around the major metropolitan price average. Noting pricing cycles vary between cities, we are willing to use standing legislative powers to introduce price regulations should fuel prices sit above the major metropolitan average for a sustained period of time," Mr Barr said in a statement.
"Canberrans can find significant savings on fuel using the FuelCheck app, by seeing up-to-the-minute pricing information either at their favourite stations, or across Canberra."
Mr Barr said helping motorists move away from petrol vehicles to battery-powered cars was another way to combat rising petrol costs.
"The ACT is currently one of the most attractive places to buy an EV - with no stamp duty, an emissions based registration scheme and an interest free loan of up to $15,000 for eligible EVs. This is one of the reasons why EV sales in the ACT are two-three times greater than the national average," he said.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the ABC's Radio National: "I commend the Queensland government because they have been prepared to think outside the square when it comes to dealing with cost of living pressures ... It's not something that we're contemplating at the national level, but I welcome the Queensland government's efforts to take the pressure off people."
Canberra still has the most expensive fuel in Australia, a March quarter report released in June by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission showed.
It was the second quarter in a row Canberra had the most expensive fuel out of Australia's capital cities.
Canberra was one of only two capital cities to see an increase in fuel prices over the last quarter, with the average cost at the bowser increasing by 0.3 cents per litre.
