Govt defends taxes as petrol price hits record high

The Government has defended fuel taxes, saying if motorists can bite the bullet now the rewards will be recognised in the future.

Levies are due to go up later this month when a 3.5 cents per litre petrol excise duty rise would come into effect. That will add to the current high price for fuel, which yesterday hit $2.36 in Wellington and $2.34 in Christchurch. In Wanaka the price was $2.50.

Prices in Auckland are generally lower than in the rest of New Zealand but also vary widely. In central Auckland some retailers were selling fuel yesterday for $2.41 but at Gull in Glen Eden it was $2.17.

The Automobile Association said motorists deserved an explanation as to why petrol prices have hit another record high.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford said: “Like all New Zealanders, I don’t like to see us pay more at the pump than we should and we want to see a competitive market for petrol.

“Fuel taxes are about the investment in infrastructure that will have a 50 or 100-year lifespan. We don’t really make those long-term infrastructure investment decisions based on the short-term fluctuations of the petroleum market.”

AA petrol spokesman Mark Stockdale said the average price in Christchurch and Wellington provided a good snapshot of the national price. “We have never had 91 octane that high, that is the most that motorists have ever paid. It’s going to be alarming for people to see petrol prices so high.

“That is the questions motorists ask, ‘Why do they keep climbing’? That’s up to the fuel companies to explain and front up.”

He said the excise duty would push prices for 91 octane just under $2.40 a litre. Z Energy said their prices were based on international oil prices, and the strength of the NZD against the USD weighs in heavily.

“Barrel prices are really high at the moment and increased at the start of this week, this along with a low [NZ] dollar is why the price at the pump has gone up.”

Lead country manager for Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Andrew McNaught, said Mobil’s fuel prices are influenced by a number of factors, including excise duties and taxes, product costs, exchange rates, transportation, retailing costs and local market competition.