Meghan Harris, 22 December 2015
FUEL may be cheap but it’s not as cheap as it should be in Toowoomba, according to the RACQ.
Motorists travelling this Christmas will have a few extra dollars in their pocket, with retailers selling unleaded for about 125c/litre and 124.6c/litre for diesel.
The average price of fuel has been steadily decreasing since August when it was 140c/litre.
While most motorists will be happy with the reduction in price, according to the RACQ it should be much lower.
Toowoomba residents should be saving even more money, with the motoring body calculating a fair price for regional areas would currently be $118.3c/litre for unleaded and 110.8c/litre for diesel.
Motorist John Burge said it was unfair motorists paid more than necessary at the pump.
“If the fair price is 118c/litre for unleaded than that is what we should be paying,” he said.
“Especially around this time of year; it would be good to see cheap fuel for the holidays.
“There isn’t much ho ho ho in the fuel companies so I can’t see that happening.
“As a pensioner, I am on a fixed income and obviously I have to fill up my car but I try and restrict my driving as much as I can.
“If the prices dropped, I would be able to have more freedom, which would be nice this time of year. Hopefully prices won’t go back up.”
RACQ spokeswoman Anna Hilton said there was no reason fuel prices should increase before Christmas.
“There has been a spotlight on Queensland over the past week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released figures on fuel retail price margins,” she said.
“They revealed Queenslanders were paying the highest margins of the major Australian cities.
“We have also seen the Queensland Government commit to having roundtable discussions with fuel companies sometime in 2016.
“This could be part of the reason prices have dropped in the past few days.
“In addition, oil prices are at record lows.
“Fuel prices are always hard to predict, however there’s no reason prices should go up before Christmas.”
Ms Hilton also suggested motorists should shop around for the lowest prices.
“We’re happy to see fuel prices have come down in Toowoomba, and would encourage motorists to shop around as rewarding the servos charging less, helps them to keep their prices down,” she said.
To see what the average fuel price is compared to the fair fuel price visit www.racq.com.au/fairfuel.
FUEL PRICES
Average fuel prices around the region (ULP/Diesel) on Monday, December 21
- Toowoomba 125/124.6
- Dalby 125.2/119
- Miles 129.4/123.8
- Goondiwindi 128.4/123.1
- Warwick 122.1/119.5
- Kingaroy 129.9/121.9
Extracted in full from The Chronicle.
