OPINION: Outrageous Fuel Costs Opinion by News Of The Area - Modern Media - January 4, 2023 DEAR News Of The Area I AM outraged at the excessive cost that we in Coffs Harbour are forced to pay for motor vehicle fuel. Having just driven through a large portion of NSW over the Christmas holiday period I have been dismayed at the price difference in fuel costs in other regional areas compared to the price we are paying here in Coffs Harbour. I drive a diesel fuel vehicle and on the Christmas weekend in Queanbeyan I paid $2.02 per litre, and I noted that most other regional service stations were also pricing diesel fuel in the low two dollars. However when returning to Coffs Harbour a few days later I noticed that prices were considerably higher, varying from $2.25 to $2.29 – a sizable increase. Our local member, Pat Conaghan MP, pledged on his re-election that his top priority was to reduce fuel costs in his electorate. However, we continue to see no results. Coffs Harbour fuel costs have always been excessive. I raised the high cost of local fuel with Mr Conaghan in March 2020, at the outbreak of the COVD pandemic, when many of us were struggling with our financial livelihoods and any monetary relief would have been welcome. He replied that the “Government does not intervene in this process” and that the higher costs can be contributed, amongst other things, to “the smaller amounts of fuel being sold” and “the lower levels of local competition”. These justifications are hard to reconcile when we consider on a typical week day 37,000 vehicles pass through Coffs Harbour. A number far greater than traffic figures in most other regional towns, or even Sydney suburbs. Also, there is no lack of competition in service stations in Coffs Harbour as we have an abundance of these. When we are all struggling with the high cost of living, it is appalling that we are still being “ripped off” at the pump. More needs to be done by our local representative to rein in these exorbitant costs. Regards Pieter De Visser Korora
Welcome to the club. I’ve been equally outraged since moving here five years ago. I understand many others feel the same. I recall penning a similar letter to one of the local rags with my view that this was hurting Coffs as a destination, not just us locals. My reasoning was that there are indicators used by travelling motorists to help them make a decision about whether to stop – or not. As soon as a place seems like it’s going to be expensive, many would simply drive through, not stopping for lunch or anything else. So many miss out due to the greed of so few. Reply
