Grey nomads cannot fail to have noticed – and been delighted by – the recent plunge in fuel prices.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) latest report on the petrol industry shows average prices in 2015-16 were at their lowest levels since 2002. And with oil prices still low and new websites and apps driving greater transparency the cost of taking the Big Lap could continue to fall.
The numbers on the bowser boards may be eye-poppingly low at the moment but the report showed that, during 2015-2016 period, the average price for petrol in the five largest cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – was 121.7 cents per litre.
And for grey nomads enjoying the tropical sunshine in Darwin, the news was even better.
In the June quarter, retail petrol prices in Darwin were lower than those in the five largest cities, despite being as much as 10 cents per litre higher in previous years. The ACCC report argued that a recent study into Darwin prices, along with the Northern Territory Government’s fuel summit in October 2014, ‘may have contributed to the lower Darwin prices through more scrutiny and better transparency’.
And in more encouraging news for caravanners and motorhomers who like to leave the bright lights of our major cities in the rear view mirror, the gap between rural and metropolitan price is also narrowing. The average difference between prices in the regional locations monitored by the ACCC and prices in the five largest cities in the June quarter was 2.3 cents per litre. This was 5.5 cents per litre below the average difference in the March quarter, which was 7.8 cents per litre.
However, things could be better still.
“We remain concerned about the petroleum industry’s high gross retail margins, which indicate motorists are not reaping the full benefits of lower international crude oil and refined petrol prices,” ACCC chairman, Rod Sims, said.
And he urged all road users to do their bit to help keep the downward momentum of fuel prices going.
“Some motorists have been quick to take advantage of petrol price apps and are already using them to ensure they are getting the best price when they fill up,” Mr Sims said. “We encourage people who are concerned about petrol prices to take advantage of these apps … motorists have the ability to drive competition in the fuel sector literally in their hands.”
The greater transparency is certainly helping, with motorists able to check and compare prices. The New South Wales Government is just launching its www.fuelcheck.nsw.gov.au website. Under changes to Fair Trading legislation it is now compulsory for all 2,000-odd service stations in the state to upload prices onto the government site as soon as their petrol boards change, allowing consumers to shop around for the best price.
No difference. We run on LPG which hasnt come down at all it has gone up in some places and a lot of garages are now taking their LPG pumps out making it a lot harder to fill up at reasonable prices or fill up at all in some places.