A LOOMING inquiry into predatory fuel pricing in regional NSW will no doubt spark a flurry of questions from locals.
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Most pressing will be the question of why on earth this hasn’t happened sooner.
While there has been a litany of inquiries into the price of fuel over the years, the one proposed by Barwon MP Kevin Humphries would be the first in the state spearheaded by those affected most – regional motorists.
For decades, drivers in Tamworth and surrounds have been subjected to a crude form of highway robbery, forced to take a hip pocket hit simply because of their postcode.
Wholesalers and retailers cite competition, the vagaries of crude oil prices and freight charges as reasons for the glaring disparity.
This is merely obfuscation.
Plainly, all three factors influence the price of fuel in a given cycle, but none explain the yawning gulf between price boards in the city and the bush.
The main reason we pay vastly more for fuel in Tamworth is because the big oil companies think they can get away with it.
This is price-gouging, cynical profiteering at our expense. And it’s illegal.
The ACCC’s reluctance – at least until recently – to look more closely at this market has been a fundamental abrogation of its duty.
We don’t want lip service, we want answers.
Thankfully, the Upper House state inquiry might finally flush some out.
How fuel prices are set is complex, but it’s not rocket science.
If the inquiry needs a few questions, local drivers will gladly help out.
For starters: how can a Walcha service station owner buy fuel from the same depot many Tamworth servo owners do and sell it for 15 cents cheaper?
Why is it Tamworth drivers pay up to 30 cents more a litre for unleaded than Sydney, when the freight cost is only about three cents a litre?
And, most importantly, why has it taken a public uproar to finally spark action?