THE weekend’s grand opening of the APCO service station in Wodonga seemed to show just how far people will go for a fair deal on fuel — and why the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s inquiry on petrol prices is needed.
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Yesterday saw a steady stream of cars queuing at the Moorefield Park Drive service station, as motorists waited patiently to take advantage of a 10 cents a litre discount.
It dropped the price of fuel to $102.5 a litre — much closer to the prices metropolitan cities like Melbourne and Sydney are now enjoying on a regular basis.
Regional and rural areas are right to ask why the disparity, and last week’s announcement that the ACCC will investigate is surely welcomed by most on the Border.
Benalla mayor Justin King is taking it one step further and will call for Benalla — where prices are still commonly at $1.29 — to be one of the 180 regional locations the inquiry focuses on.
He says his residents just want fairness, a sentiment surely echoed by most. It’s inevitable that people in regional and rural areas often have to drive more frequently just to access basic infrastructure and services — why should we pay for the nose for the privilege as well?
