ONE Tamworth councillor has raised concerns about soaring petrol prices and the impact it is going to have on local businesses and individuals.
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Mark Rodda has called on Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) to lobby its state and federal MPs to put downward pressure on fuel prices as he expected $2 per litre prices to be a reality by Christmas.
Cr Rodda raised it at TRC’s last ordinary meeting and said it was an emerging issue for businesses in the months ahead.
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“Council has done its best to mitigate the effects of drought, but many are aware of an emerging issue on businesses and residents in the months ahead with fuel costs at a decade high according to CommSec,” he said.
Cr Rodda aired concerns about how fuel prices would slug families in the region.
“As far as residents are concerned, driving up fuel costs is eroding the ever increasing standards of living,” he said.
“It’s expected to be $2 a litre Christmas … I’m wondering as a council, whether we should highlight this to our representatives and see what they could do.”
According to the state government’s online fuel check portal, Premium 98 petrol was going for as much as $1.88 per litre in West Tamworth, while the best deal it could find on the product was $1.72 in Nemingha.
If you filled up on Unleaded 91 in West Tamworth, you could pay as much as $1.63 per litre, while the cheapest option in town was $1.49 per litre at Oxley Vale.
Diesel is as high as $1.73 per litre, once again on the West of town, while the cheapest option is $1.58 on Armidale Road.
Cr Rodda feared it would have a flow-on effect on freight costs and groceries in the near future.
“In Australia, we hurt ourselves all the time because we want to be tied to what rest of the world wants to be tied to, “ he said.
“I’m not sure what it’s like in Singapore, or the Middle East, but I bet fuel isn’t nearly as expensive as it is in some western countries tied to parity pricing who have indicated they’re happy with market forces being applied to commodities like that.”
During the last week, Premium 98 has been sold at an average price of 169.5c a litre, across the state.
NSW motorists have paid an average of 151.2c per litre for Unleaded 91 last week, while diesel has costed an average price of 163.5c per litre at the pump.