The Editorial
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WHY is it that Wagga motorists are bludgeoned by oil companies and yet no one seems to have the political will or know-how to do anything about it?
Last weekend when drivers in small Victoria towns were paying about 133cpl for unleaded petrol, Wagga residents were being slugged an amazing 155 for exactly the same product? The other concerning element of this unbelievable situation is that while other cities and towns enjoy what the oil companies comically call "discounting cycles", Wagga's retail price remains unmoved.
When you talk about a few cents a litre companies can perhaps justify a small price differential, but a whopping 30cpl can't be explained away easily.
Put into its full context, that means a family in Wagga operating a car consuming a full 60-litre tank of petrol a week is paying almost $1000 more a year than their country cousins in most other centres.
That's no small price to pay for the "luxury" of buying your fuel in Wagga and consider the two-car families where that additional "cost" is the best part of $2000 a year.
The time has well and truly come for our parliaments to address this situation though the legislative process.
Petrol station operators are clearly unable to provide an equitable and fair pricing structure in our city so federal member Michael McCormack and state member Daryl Maguire need to take up the fight on behalf of their constituents.
There is no logical reason Wagga drivers should be paying up to 16 per cent more for their fuel than those living in other regional centres yet it continues unabated.
Petrol pricing has fallen into the too-hard basket of politics, despite the fact it is one area where consumers desperately need protection. Petrol is a commodity regional Australian's can't survive without given our lack of public and affordable transport options, we are forced to use private vehicles on most occasions.
But we shouldn't be penalised for living in Wagga a place which seems to have its very own set of rules when it comes to petrol pricing.