Slow and steady wins the taste

THINK SLOW COOKERS ARE JUST FOR WINTER? THINK AGAIN WITH THESE CONTEMPORARY IDEAS

THE two new fuel apps that have been made available to Tasmanians reaffirm what we already know – Tasmanians are getting ripped off at the bowser. An analysis by the Mercury shows that if you chose to fill your vehicle in Hobart you could be stung up to 30 cents more a litre for fuel than that of some service stations in regional areas.

Two service stations – one at Eastlands and one in Macquarie Street – yesterday had fuel at 135.9 cents per litre.

Yet head to Brighton and you’ll pay 119.9 or 122.0 in Lewisham.

It defies logic.

Regional retailers that spoke with the Mercury said they lowered their prices to attract people into their stores, which is understandable.

But it does demonstrate that those inner-city stations absolutely have more wriggle room in terms of pricing.

For most families fuel is a necessary evil in the household budget.

While you might be able to save on a grocery bill or cut out a leisure spend, getting to and from school or work is nonnegotiable and the vast majority of Tasmanians would not use the limited public transport options available.

So it hits the hip pocket and Tasmanians understandably feel upset when they feel as though they’re getting a raw deal.

In Brisbane, yesterday’s average fuel price was 115.9, but surprisingly if you look around the capital cities the average price varies. Melbourne and Sydney prices average out to 130 cents a litre.

If yesterday was anything to go by, we weren’t faring too badly compared with other major cities, but we’ve previously, on countless occasions, reported instances of Hobart motorists being gouged when filling up. There have been more than 50 state and federal petrol price inquiries since the mid-1970s. Repeatedly it has been explained that the retail price of petrol is the interaction of a series of independently variable factors, including international benchmark prices, exchange rates, levels of local competition, taxes, wholesale costs, price cycles and so on.

But it still doesn’t make sense to people paying more at the bowser.

Both the state government and RACT are to be commended for finally releasing their fuel watch apps and ensuring there is mandatory real-time fuel price reporting.

The huge take-up rate proves Tasmanians are desperate to save where they can and we hope that by calling out these anomalies – such as the huge discrepancies between urban and regional areas – Tasmanians won’t stand for it.

While it might not always be practical to fill up at a reasonable regional service station that sees its role in the community as being more than just a place to refuel, it will make us vote with our dollars whenever we have the opportunity.