Cut petrol price now, urges AA

The AA is calling for fuel retailers to drop their prices, saying the price for petrol is too high.

Spokesman Mark Stockdale said the last time the average price was this high, the Government stepped in.

Stockdale called on fuel retailers to drop the price of both petrol and diesel by 4c a litre immediately, saying they never should have been so high to begin with.

The national price for 91 unleaded petrol is $2.15 a litre and the price for diesel is $1.49.

In some parts of the country, such as the Coromandel, Waiheke Island and the West Coast of the South Island, prices would be dearer while in Auckland, they would likely be cheaper, Stockdale said.

Company’s profit margins had potentially increased in recent weeks because of a weakening kiwi dollar and the commodity price for fuel dropping.

Stockdale said Labour had expressed concern about fuel prices while in Opposition and now they were in Government the party should be looking into the issue.

The new Energy Minister Megan Woods was looking into a review on fuel prices, which was part of the Labour/NZ First coalition deal, a spokesman said.

The inquiry into fuel pricing led by previous Energy Minister Judith Collins hadn’t gone far enough and one option for the new Government was to refer the issue to the Commerce Commission. “The minister has previously expressed concern that Kiwis are paying over the odds at the pump and that seems to be especially true for people living in Wellington in the South Island,” the spokesman said.