LONG-SUFFERING Tamworth motorists have been offered a glimmer of hope after the ACCC was this week granted sweeping new powers to probe markets with “unexplained high prices”.
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For years, Tamworth drivers have had the dubious honour of paying among the steepest prices for unleaded and diesel fuel in the state, even higher than a number of surrounding villages and towns.
The federal government announced on Wednesday the consumer watchdog could now conduct about four “deep dive” investigations each year into fuel markets where prices are inexplicably high.
Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs Bruce Billson said regional areas would be first on the hit list.
“In some regional centres that are about the same distance out of the capital cities and the same distance from terminals, (with) no great variation in the volume sold, but quite a difference in the price that motorists are charged,” he said.
“We need to understand what’s at play there, examine whether there are any irregularities or any mischief at play.
“Where there are some irregularities, something that seems not quite right and that’s to the detriment to motorists, we can have a closer examination of it.”
Tamworth Taxis director Greg Rowland welcomed the new approach, saying high fuel prices were a blight on his industry.
“Our biggest input cost is fuel and it’s hard to understand why, when you go to Newcastle or Sydney, prices are so much cheaper,” Mr Rowland said.
“It apparently only costs 6c a litre to transport it yet we can pay 15c litre a more here.”
He said the price pressure was so intense, 90 per cent of the Tamworth taxi fleet would be converted to hybrid within two years.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall in October launched a blistering attack on the ACCC, branding it an “anti-competitive eunuch” for failing to act on Armidale’s “obscene” prices. He welcomed the watchdog’s added bite.
“This is terrific news and I commend strongly the actions of the federal government in backing the calls of the Armidale community and the Northern Tablelands for more action on fuel pricing cartels in regional areas,” he said.
“It is up to us in the community to keep the pressure on those fuel retailers who treat their customers like mugs.”
Under the new changes, the ACCC will conduct quarterly, rather than annual, price-monitoring reports, containing detailed information about pricing and trends in demand.
According to the NRMA’s Petrol Watch website, the average price for unleaded in Tamworth was 145.4c a litre on Thursday.
