Further to the discussion yesterday.
Was $1.43 when I filled up in
Victor Harbor about a week ago. Was about 20c per litre dearer than ULP - that's what really gives us all a pain in the hip pocket, because it almost negates the fuel economy of a diesel in litres/100km terms.
The story put about is that because retail buyers of diesel are only a small minority (10% I think) there is not the same competitive pressure which causes the discounting cycle with petrol. That may
well be true so maybe we diesel users ought to get active!!!!
Looking at the tables in the EO Fuel Prices section, it is evident that most of the data is supplied by Shell, which is the only oil company to do so. Seems that very little data is contributed by EO readers. The first thing we could ALL do is go around some of the servo's in our local areas every day or two then post the prices on the EO Fuel price page. The next thing we can do is conscientiously buy our diesel at the cheapest sites anywhere there is a choice.
There's not a lot of point in blaming the government - the taxes on diesel are about the same as petrol. And fuel prices in Australia are among the lowest in the OECD countries. Look at this graph
Site Link . Thank our lucky stars we aren't in the UK or Turkey!
I think the real issue is the terminal
gate prices prices are too high, which means the oil company margins on diesel would be pretty good. That's because no one is pressuring the oil companies in regard to diesel prices. Who can blame them charging all the market will stand if we all just meekly pay up.
If all the diesel users in the country, both commercial and private started squealing and protesting, and actively seeking the cheapest prices, and telling the oil companies what we are doing at every opportunity then maybe some competition would start creeping into the diesel market.
There really ought to be at least parity with petrol prices. There seem to be quite a few more smaller diesel sedans coming on the market now, and if the relative price of diesel came down that could turn into a flood, thus fuelling more demand for diesel, more competition, more pumps at every service station, and so on and so on.
Maybe we should start a "diesel users coalition" and really agitate for some change. Question is, would diesel users be prepared to pay, say, $50 per vehicle per year to support such a campaign? Will be very interested to see the response to this!