Tasmania’s fuel retailers are warning the federal government’s decision to halve fuel excise will bring relief at the petrol pump – but won’t stop diesel prices from rising further.
Bennett’s Petroleum CEO Troy Bennett said demand fell 20-30% over the weekend as motorists changed their habits in response to soaring prices.
“Instead of costing … $50 for a tank of fuel now, it’s $100,” he told Pulse.
“And for trucks it’s … $1,000 instead of $500, so I understand that people are changing their ways … their behaviours and/or their travel plans.”
While the excise cut will flow through to unleaded petrol, Bennett said diesel prices could rise by roughly the same amount as the saving over the next week.
“I was hoping the excise would actually give … a lot of relief to customers, but for diesel I don’t think it’s going to unfortunately over the next seven days,” he said.
“[For] unleaded or petrol it will. So fingers crossed the wholesale price does come down for diesel over the next few days.”
Tas Petroleum general manager Nathan Thurlow said his company hopes to drop petrol prices before Easter Thursday, depending on wholesale pricing.
But he said diesel forecasts show prices could rise by 23 cents in coming days.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Thurlow said.
Both retailers said passing on the excise cut presents a financial risk.
Stations still holding pre-excise fuel stocks face heavy losses if they cut prices too early.
“You’ll find service stations having to compete, but at the same time, they could lose tens of thousands of dollars if they drop 26 cents with old fuel in the tank,” Bennett said.
“You’ve gotta get the timing right, otherwise your site could lose thousands of dollars.”
Both retailers praised the federal initiative but called for further action.
Thurlow wants GST capped at pre-Iran conflict levels, noting the government now collects 31 cents per litre on diesel, up from 17 cents in late February.
