The scheme being used in Western Australia called "FuelWatch" has some potential benefits for New Zealand motorists, if it can be adapted for local conditions and introduced here with the support of all the oil companies.
"FuelWatch" requires suppliers to announce their next day's prices and then keep to them, giving motorists a limited opportunity to plan their needs and possibly save money.
But even this scheme has severe drawbacks if the expectation is that somehow motorists will gain a degree of control over soaring prices.
This is because Australian petrol prices generally rise and fall on a weekly cycle, unlike those here which respond sharply to movements in oil trading in Singapore.
At any event, the Clark Government's inquiry into fuel pricing is most unlikely to produce a report before the election, although some light on what is popularly suspected as a form of cartel may be shed by a preliminary study of the industry due to be completed by the end of next month.
The Automobile Association has been calling for an independent inquiry into the nature of local oil company competition for some time, and Consumer NZ wants consideration given to appointing a kind of fuel ombudsman or fuel-price commissioner to ensure companies are not, in fact, acting in concert.
Whether the Minister of Commerce, Leanne Dalziel, really believes there are gains to be had for motorists by meeting these requests remains unknown, but the cautious approach she has adopted is the correct one.
She has rightly said any gains are likely to be marginal, has acknowledged she has no proof for her and others' suspicion that oil companies are slower to reduce retail prices in response to international movements than they are to increase them, and admits her inquiry may really only be "a bit of a myth-busting exercise".
To that extent it could be helpful and at least shows that the Clark Government can be seen to be "doing something" by voters about petrol prices.
It could do a great deal more.
There is nothing, short of nationalising the industry, that the Government can do about oil prices at the border, but there are many other options for coping with the price at the pumps.
The most obvious of these is to reduce somewhat the large slice the state receives from taxes on each litre of petrol.
The question, however, is just how much of a reduction the public would tolerate in road maintenance and construction spending, large amounts of which are funded from petrol tax.
The GST component is a different matter, and the AA has suggested about 5.6c per litre on 91-octane petrol could be waived.
The Government has ruled this out, however, and rightly so.
If a reduction of GST was to be considered for petrol - which is an optional purchase for many citizens, although they would argue use of their vehicles is essential - there would be immediate questions about the Government's priorities.
If GST is to be conceded at all, then basic foodstuffs would surely be the focus, especially given the high transport costs now being factored into retail prices.
But there is no sense, really, in the state cushioning consumers from the true costs of living, whether it be controlling the price of bread or the price of petrol, let alone interfering to effectively discourage competition.
The Government will have noted with concern the results of a respected opinion poll from across the Tasman, published on Monday, which indicated almost 80% of Australian respondents wanted direct government intervention to cut petrol prices.
Three times as many wanted a cut in fuel taxes than supported the FuelWatch price information scheme.
But the sooner consumers face up to the real costs of motor vehicle use, especially of their discretionary use, the sooner less expensive and more environmentally suitable transport alternatives will be advanced.
It is entirely likely oil prices will continue to increase and sensible consumers will already be looking to transport alternatives, or to cutting back vehicle use, even selling that second car or buying smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles.
While the Government's inquiry will do no lasting harm, nor will it do any lasting good.
If anything, it may only establish that retail margins at the pump are generally reasonable.
