UNCOVERING the hidden factors that determine petrol pricing in Tasmania would help make sense of the state’s inflated prices, according to the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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The state government last week asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to make an immediate investigation into Tasmania’s fuel prices.
The request was a result of new investigative powers granted to the commission this month.
Tasmania holds the second highest weekly average price for petrol in the country, sitting 7¢ behind Northern Territory with a price of 149.2¢.
TCCI chief executive officer Michael Bailey said he hoped any investigation would find what caused long delays in reducing Tasmanian fuel prices when the cost of oil dropped.
‘‘A frustration for businesses is how prices can jump up straight away as soon as there’s an international increase, the decrease never flows through, or it does but many months later,’’ Mr Bailey said.
He said it was important that petrol users did not villainise service station owners.
‘‘It’s important that we don’t jump to assume our local petrol station is making money out of this – they’re just not,’’ Mr Bailey said.
‘‘There’s some issue in the chain where there’s a delay in prices reaching Tasmania.’’
Users at Launceston petrol bowsers yesterday expressed a feeling of being powerless when it came to petrol costs.
Tony Roberts, of Launceston, said it was not just fuel prices that were inflated in Tasmania.
‘‘Groceries too, everything else is a lot dearer here,’’ Mr Roberts said.
‘‘The way to fix it is to make Bass Strait the same as the highways in the rest of Australia.