Motorists in Whangārei won’t know until September why they are paying some of the highest fuel prices in the country.

That’s because the next quarterly report on more analysis of fuel prices in different regions
undertaken by the Commerce Commission is due in September.

The commission is looking into fuel price variations across the country, including in Whangārei, after the district’s mayor asked it to investigate why prices were among the highest in the country.

Fuel prices in Whangārei are up to 40 cents a litre more expensive than in other parts of the country, with even petrol stations further north being cheaper. Even Auckland, which has an extra 10c-a-litre fuel tax, has cheaper petrol.

The situation had already prompted Mayor Vince Cocurullo to write to the commission to see what it can do about what he calls “unfairness”.

The petrol companies said fuel prices were set by a number of factors, including product cost, exchange rates, transportation, retailing costs and local market competition.

Under the Fuel Industry Act, the commission cannot control or set fuel prices. Under the fuel regime, wholesalers and distributors must provide information that helps the commission monitor and report on the competitive performance of the fuel market, “including whether we see signs of competition improving over time”.

Energy Minister Megan Woods said one further step the Government was taking was a regulatory backstep move to allow the commission to set competitive terminal gate prices if these are found to be higher than expected in a competitive market.

But she didn’t say whether the commission would have the ability to regulate fuel prices at a retail level.

Woods said she recently met with Whangārei MP Emily Henderson after the latter raised the issue of high fuel prices in the district with her.

“We discussed the fact that Whangārei does not have the benefit other areas of the country have, of independent fuel retailers to make prices competitive for motorists.”

Neither her office nor the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has data on the number of independent fuel retailers in Whangārei.

Cocurullo said Woods’ comment that Whangārei didn’t have independent fuel retailers as other towns with cheaper fuel didn’t make sense.

“Paihia has way cheaper fuel than Whangārei, Waipapa the same, and they have fewer fuel retailers than Whangārei. Why is it that fuel is more expensive in the town with the main entry point for refined fuel into the country than in Auckland and other places?

“There’s no logical reason for it. We want to be treated fairly,” he said.

Cocurullo said he was getting “half answers” from stakeholders he had been talking to about the disparity in fuel prices.

New Zealand Automobile Association principal policy adviser Terry Collins earlier said it appeared competition was not an issue in Whangārei which had multiple outlets from six different suppliers.

In addition to the onshore reserves, the amount of stock in transit to New Zealand at any one time is estimated to be about 17 days’ cover for all refined fuels. Minimum fuel stockholding levels for fuel importers and wholesalers with bulk storage facilities will equate to about 28, 24 and 21 days’ worth of petrol, jet fuel and diesel respectively.