Don’t panic-buy fuel amid price spike, RAA urges
Authorities are preparing to crack down on fuel companies profiteering from the Iran war as prices surge to $2.20 a litre in Murray Bridge.
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Motorists are being urged not to panic-buy fuel in response to skyrocketing prices.
The cost of unleaded petrol averaged just under $2.20 per litre in the Murraylands on Thursday morning, according to the RAA, having jumped about 40c in a fortnight.
The cheapest fuel around was going for 215.9 cents per litre at the BP at Wellington, while the dearest was 224.9c.
Diesel prices were the highest they had ever been in South Australia, the RAA advised on Thursday.
But it could be worse – retailers at Karoonda expected to run out of fuel completely this week, with their next delivery not due for several days.
Federal MP Tony Pasin said he had been contacted by concerned people all over Barker, the electorate which includes the Murraylands.
Still, RAA spokesman Peter Nattrass urged motorists not to make the crisis worse by panic-buying petrol or diesel.
“While we appreciate there is global uncertainty, there is no need to queue for fuel or panic-buy,” he said.
“We don’t want to see a repeat of the toilet paper situation we had during COVID.
“The local supply chain needs time to catch up … (so) absolutely top up or fill up if you need fuel, but panic buying will only exacerbate availability and cost issues.”
He urged drivers to use the free RAA app or website to find the cheapest fuel near them.
State Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis reinforced the message that South Australia’s fuel supply was secure.
“There is fuel in all South Australian terminals, there is shipping currently in port and more shipping scheduled to arrive in line with normal delivery arrangements,” he said on Wednesday.
“All advice to government is that Australia remains well placed to weather international fuel shocks, and customers do not need to stockpile fuel.”
Authorities plan crackdown on fuel wholesalers and retailers
Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on Wednesday that it would crack down on companies seeking to profit from the war in Iran.
“We ... will take action against any case of misleading consumers about the reason for the steep and rapid increase in prices by individual retailers, or any breaches of the competition provisions,” ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said.
“We are closely watching market behaviour, and if there is conduct that is collusive or misleading or deceptive, we will investigate it and take action where appropriate.”
On the same day, the federal government announced it would increase the maximum penalty for cartel behaviour in the fuel industry to $100 million per offence.
In a joint statement, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Mr Bowen and Assistant Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Minister Andrew Leigh said there had been no interruption to fuel imports into Australia.
“We have the supply coming into the country we need,” they said.
“We are not experiencing a fuel shortage, but rather localised disruption due to significant spikes in demand.”
- Find the cheapest fuel: www.raa.com.au.
