Fluctuating fuel prices and the Government
Posted by: Nefertari
19th Jul 2018 01:27pm
My husband and I were out driving the other day and passed a petrol station where the price of petrol was $1.29...."that's not bad" I thought compared to what the price had been in the past few weeks. So you can imagine my astonishment when we drove back home a couple of hours later to find that the price had risen dramatically to $1.59 a litre! How can this sort of thing happen and what is the government doing about fluctuating fuel prices? Just when are they going to step in and tell the oil companies 'enough is enough'!
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Comments 28
jjdrer
Recently fuel was $2.20 per litre. Unfortunately some of the prices are partially dependent on overseas supply and prices those companies charge. Some service stations actually pay for the fuel before it is delivered to them. Sometimes fuel prices suddenly drop and those that have bought theirs just before the drop lose $$$$thousands. They either sell it at loss or sell none at all. Some towns are charged more for the freight of it than others too. SA Government has the highest fuel levies in Australia.
Timbo
The first government to really tackle this issue with the big oil companies will win my vote. It is ridiculous and everyone can see it. Strange how the petrol price has a dramatic hike every time a public holiday is coming up! The "discounts" offered by Woollies and Coles on petrol purchases are a fake as their petrol prices are often the highest prices in the marketplace. The discounts still leave you with a higher price at the pump than many of the independents.
Adzzy
Prices vary with the area, we are in an area the population and housing is booming. Fuel is always more expensive here. I take a short detour home from work and the price can sometimes be 30c cheaper than my loacl servo
ronles
what is the correct price of petrol ? who knows.
queentulip
If you download a certain app you can literally check which servo has the cheapest price wherever you are located.
Recky
I find it interesting that the so called motoring clubs do not hit the State and Federal governments head on with this one. Perhaps it's because they receive sponsorship or other funding?
Recky
I find it interesting that the so called motoring clubs do not hit the State and Federal governments head on with this one. Perhaps it's because they receive sponsorship or other funding?
Karl31614694
We are all trapped, the country is vast, and in many cases, public transport sucks and won’t take us where we need to get in a reasonable amount of time, or at all. We need to use private transport, we can’t just stop driving around, because although the fuel companies would run out of money, we’d run out sooner!
Anton31610100
No, it could be that the fuel companies are price gouging could it? Of course not, we were told by reliable sources (governments) that that did not happen. Unfortunately, until consumers decide to take direct action with rolling boycotts of fuel companies this will continue as both state & federal governments have vested interests and have been bought by the fuel companies.
Rossco
The wholesale price of fuel or Terminal Gate Price is reasonably controlled and reflects the price of crude oil in Singapore allowing for refining, freight etc. You can look this up on line as most of the fuel companies list it on their web site. Since Coles and Woolworths entered the fuel market they have progressively been moving up the retail market price. They are very good at retailing and consequently margins at the pump can be as high as 25cpl plus at the top of the market. This is where the public are really being ripped off. In markets like Brisbane where there are a lower number of Independent Operators the price stays higher because of reduced competition. The government focus needs to be on controlling this retail margin at say 12cpl. Competition on pricing is a good thing and should not be controlled in any way as this will work against the consumer. The public should watch pricing at boycott sites that are not competitive. Has anyone noticed Coles and Shell sites are now invariably the highest priced whilst Woolworths (normally) and 7/11 are the lowest ?. Rossco
chickenman
now over $1:60 here. dearest i have seen 166.9 cpl
KennethS
I have lived and worked in a number of countries, but Australia is the only one with a Fuel Price Cycle, it is farcical, and is just a mechanism for fleecing the motorist, and I am amazed that the Australian people are so docile when they are obviously being ripped off.
The Oil Companies, the Insurance Companies, the Banks and the unholy supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolies, with their trading ethics make Ned Kelly seem like a decent citizen and a pillar of the community.
Australia is the land of the Corporate Rip Off, and they get away with it because we suckers allow them to
Peter
Somebody is making a lot of money! Fortunately our prices are not as bad as some countries. Shopping around is the answer for the moment.
dicky a
morning ...as the rest of us , you are victim of a "perfect storm". OPEC have - after 18 months - finally reached some sort of agreement that limits the amount of fuel it will process. Countries like Venezula cannot fill the supply breach, The Aussie dollar has slipped by about 10% against the USD ( contracts written in USD) . "Governments" can do nothing about it other than lower their excises ( FAT CHANCE ) so they are stuck ...and remember both sides of politics are in on this as are the states as well.
dicky a
morning ...as the rest of us , you are victim of a "perfect storm". OPEC have - after 18 months - finally reached some sort of agreement that limits the amount of fuel it will process. Countries like Venezula cannot fill the supply breach, The Aussie dollar has slipped by about 10% against the USD ( contracts written in USD) . "Governments" can do nothing about it other than lower their excises ( FAT CHANCE ) so they are stuck ...and remember both sides of politics are in on this as are the states as well.
uruz
When I refueled with diesel at Bourke last month I paid $1.52.9 a litre and the bloke there asked me where I was headed. When I told him the Central Coast, he said boy you’ll notice a big difference there and he was so right. It was up to eight cents dearer. Go figure.
echo 01
Come on the poor oil companies have to make a profit,If they didn't what woulld happen to all there employees.
echo 01
Come on the poor oil companies have to make a profit,If they didn't what woulld happen to all there employees.
KennethS
There is one thing much nicer than a reasonable fair profit, and that is an obscenely large profit, usually gained by being in a monopoly or cartel position
tibi
Government don't do anything, higher the price more tax they collect, politicians don't pay for petrol, and there earning way above what they worth
chickenman
something else i have all but given up on trying to understand. but seeing as Australia does not own any fuel companies or refineries, we are at the mercy of foreign ownership. the only way i can see for fuel prices in OZ. to become stable and affordable is to bring back OZ. ownership of oil supplies, processing and outlets.
KennethS
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen, we have had a lame duck Government since the last Federal election - a Hostile Senate is a very effective bar to achieving anything. Each major party opposes the other, even when they are trying to do what the opposition would do if it was the Government.
I don't know who are the major corporate political donors, but an example from New Zealand reflects the realpolitick of political bankrolling.
In NZ Brierley a very succeessful and unscrupulous Corporate raider made equal large political donations to both the NZ Labour Party and the National Party, it's not rocket science as to why Brierley did that ( you want our donations, don't rock our boat)
Nefertari
I agree...now that we have a new Prime Minister let's hope that he and his cabinet come to that realization.
drums69
Its the government not giving a hoot about us. Screwing us over as usual.
Anyway good to see Turnbull is getting roasted like the greedy pig he is!
Hope we get someone who gives a toss.
chickenman
not only the LNP. Labor will be the same and Greens will be worse. we need to re-establish Australian ownership in our own fuel industry.
chickenman
not only the LNP. Labor will be the same and Greens will be worse. we need to re-establish Australian ownership in our own fuel industry.
Bazz
I recall that day! That's not the only Essential Service that goes unregulated or more commonly, under-regulated. All fuel types used to be cheap when we had our own refineries in each capital city & rarely fluctuated. Now the price is set in Singapore, but it's 'higher than a country' that controls oil prices. In New Zealand when I was there, fuel was fixed to one flat price nation-wide, but it was expensive. We need to regain energy sovereignty once again, as well as banking sovereignty. There will be a Royal Commission into Energy Cartels soon too.
mustang6000
No, it could be that the fuel companies are price gouging could it? Of course not, we were told by reliable sources (governments) that that did not happen. Unfortunately, until consumers decide to take direct action with rolling boycotts of fuel companies this will continue as both state & federal governments have vested interests and have been bought by the fuel companies.