Service station workers across Tasmania are copping abuse from frustrated customers as fuel prices surge, prompting a plea for calm from leaders.
Troy Bennett, CEO of Bennett’s Petroleum, said staff were being verbally attacked over price rises beyond their control.
He said many of his 300+ workers were fielding accusations of price gouging and demands to explain why costs had jumped overnight.
“Why did the price go up 10 cents in the last day? Why are you doing this to us? Why are you hurting us,” Bennett said customers asked.
Bennett said diesel prices rose 18 cents in a single day this week as wholesale costs spiked.
“Busy service stations get fuel every day as the price goes up,” he told Pulse.
“The fuel that we bought that day at 12.01[am] went up 18 cents. And that’s why the public is seeing big increases in daily prices, unfortunately.”
“We hate doing it, but we’ve got no other choice, otherwise we go under and if we go under, we can’t supply fuel.”
He said his focus right now is ensuring his staff “can handle the customers who are frustrated with the price increase”.
“All of business and all of government and every household is experiencing some sort of hurt and pain at the moment,” he said.
“But I urge everyone to try to make sure you still remain respectful to each other.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff backed the call for respect.
“We thank all those Tasmanians working to deliver petrol to our communities,” Rockliff told Pulse.
“There is no place in our community for aggressive behaviour, and I urge people to be respectful.”
Bennett warned panic buying was putting pressure on the supply chain and urged Tasmanians not to hoard fuel.
“As demand increases, so does the fuel in the tanks at the terminal,” he said.
“Don’t hoard the fuel, please, because we need the supply to be able to go to every customer we have.”
He said demand at most Bennett’s Petroleum sites spiked between 20% and 40% in the first week of March, with some sites reporting even higher increases.
Competitor Tas Petroleum reported seeing an 80% spike in its sales last week.
A ship arrived at Hobart’s Selfs Point terminal on Sunday, filling tanks ahead of the next delivery in 26 to 28 days.
Bennett said his company was prioritising regional and remote customers, including industrial clients like farmers and trucking companies.
“We go out and make sure they are full and work our way in, because as we come into more density, there [are] more locations for people to actually get fuel.”
Bennett said retailers had no choice but to pass on wholesale price increases set by oil companies including Ampol, BP and Shell.
“As [their] price goes up, we have to put the price up. As [their] price goes down, we put the price down.”
Brent crude oil has jumped from roughly $65 to $100 a barrel in two weeks.
“I thought it was going to come down next week, but not with the oil price now at $100,” Bennett said.
The federal government yesterday announced it would temporarily relax fuel quality standards to release additional supply.
Bennett welcomed the move, saying any increase in supply would help.
As of this afternoon, unleaded was averaging $2.20 per litre across Tasmania, ranging from $1.88 to $2.45.
Diesel was averaging $2.51, with prices between $1.89 and $2.79.
Bennett said customers could use the state government’s FuelCheckTas app to find the cheapest fuel nearby.
He urged frustrated motorists to direct complaints to their elected representatives rather than service station workers.
“The biggest winners out of this is [are] actually the federal government, because their GST receipts have gone up,” he said.
“I would ask customers to talk to your local government representative about whether the governments can actually subsidise any of the fuel.”
