BOWSER BLUES

FAMILIES looking to make the most of their Easter holidays have again been slapped by the bowser blues.

The annual daylight robbery at the service station is back — it’s seasonal return as certain as the arrival of hot cross buns on our shelves. Curiously, no one has been able to explain just what is behind this mysterious shock increase in fuel prices, given the fuel is often purchased weeks or months before hand.

Some stations on the Gold Coast reported leaps of 20-30 per cent in their fuel prices in the last week. While there seems to be no quick fix, consumers have been given the chance to fight back thanks to a fuel watch trial introduced by the State Government in May last year.

Stations are now required to report their prices every half-hour to fuel watch apps, which means motorists now have a choice when looking for the best deal. The idea is great in practice but needs consumers to drive the prices down by avoiding gougers en masse.

We have seen time and time again that any government watchdog looking to deal with fuel price gouging is all bark and no bite, and politicians only seem to be able to legislate so far. So it is up to us the consumer to stick it to the big companies looking to take advantage.

That extra three minutes searching for the independent fuel station doing it right could help turn the tide — anything less will ultimately cost us more.