‘Doesn’t add up’: RACQ slams Brisbane petrol price hikes as unfair
Brisbane drivers are being urged to fill up the tank as unleaded petrol prices are set to rise by almost 60 cents a litre at some service stations.
Fuel companies in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast were already increasing unleaded prices on Wednesday from a low of 160¢ a litre to a high of 219.9¢.
RACQ head of public policy Dr Michael Kane said despite impacts from the Israel-Iran conflict and the local price cycle, retail margins were far too high compared with other parts of the country.
Brisbane petrol price hikes are unjustified and unfair, the RACQ says.Credit: Peter Wallis
“We’re currently in the price-hike phase of the fuel cycle and while we usually see prices jump, an almost 60¢ hike is unjustified and unfair,” he said.
“We’re seeing a lot of blame for these higher prices fall on international factors, like the conflict in the Middle East and volatile global oil prices, but these haven’t led to a significant increase in wholesale fuel prices, so the massive spike at the bowser doesn’t add up.”
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission calling for the watchdog to monitor for potential price gouging at the bowser by operators.
Petrol prices have fluctuated following uncertainty in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel trading air strikes and the US bombing Iranian nuclear facilities.
“We don’t want to see service stations do the wrong thing by Australian motorists,” Chalmers told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.
“We don’t want to see this volatility in global oil prices lead to more-than-justifiable changes in the price that Australian motorists pay at the bowser.”
Oil prices had been sitting about $62 a barrel at the start of June, before rising to $79 following US strikes on Iran.
While the price has moderated since a ceasefire agreement, economists warned the cost could rise to above $100 a barrel if fuel supplies were impacted by further strikes.
Consumer watchdog chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb has been asked to report back to the treasurer on price-gouging issues.
“I would expect the ACCC ... to investigate any concerns arising about misrepresentations regarding petrol prices, false and misleading conduct or anticompetitive conduct in petrol markets, and to take appropriate action,” Chalmers said in a letter to the commission.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said should the price of oil reach above $100 a barrel, it would add 25¢ a litre to retail petrol costs.
Late last year, the NRMA demanded the ACCC review the fuel-price cycles that trap motorists in Brisbane, pointing to their analysis that showed an average family spent at least $250 a year more on fuel in the Queensland capital compared with Perth.
That’s because Perth had a one-week price cycle among its fuel retailers, while service stations in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne consistently cycled their prices over a six-week period, which was too long for motorists to wait out high-price periods before they filled their tanks.
In December, Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg welcomed the prospect of an ACCC inquiry, which he acknowledged must be triggered by the federal government.
with AAP and Mike Foley
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