TASMANIANS are being gouged $76 million more than mainlanders each year when topping up their petrol tanks, according to the state’s peak motoring body.
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RACT spokesman Darren Moody said every cent of difference between Tasmania and the rest of the country equated to $4 million a year in petrol pain.
Tasmanians pay about 19¢ a litre more for unleaded petrol than those living in Melbourne, with the margin ballooning out to between 30¢ and 40¢ earlier this month.
Launceston drivers paid about 126.8¢ a litre for unleaded petrol yesterday, while Melbourne drivers paid as little as 100.3¢ for the same product.
Mr Moody said politicians, the public and consumer groups were understandably angry about the price disparities.
He said an imminent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry into regional petrol prices could not come soon enough.
‘‘You could understand a gap between Tasmania and Melbourne of about 7¢ to 10¢ when you factor in freight costs and the difference in volumes,’’ Mr Moody said.
‘‘But there is absolutely no reasonable excuse for that to have more than doubled in the months since last July.’’
The Tasmanian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which represents independent fuel retailers, said there were no sinister motives underlying the state’s prices.
‘‘To the best of my knowledge there is no gouging or collusion in Tassie – it’s merely the nature of how the market operates,’’ TACC general manager Malcolm Little said.
‘‘Independents are not in a position to gain any type of preferential wholesale price, so they simply can’t participate in significant discounting of retail prices.’’
Mr Little said there was more to the 20¢ gap between wholesale and retail petrol prices than met the eye.
‘‘Margins made by independents can be quite small when all costs are factored in ... often they rely on providing other services like mechanical repairs to make a living,’’ he said.
