Huge disparity in petrol prices

Wairoa should be voting with its feet because of the cost of petrol in the town - the highest prices in any of the main road towns and cities from Hawke's Bay to Gisborne.

The situation was highlighted early yesterday afternoon when Unleaded Octane 91 fuel in the town was 189.9 cents a litre - 15 cents a litre more than the cheapest in Hawke's Bay, in Waipukurau and Waipawa.

But by evening motorists in Dannevirke and Gisborne were also paying the top dollar heading into what police expect to be the busiest weekend of the year on the country's roads as holidaymakers head home at the end of the Christmas-New Year holiday period.

High prices for petrol have always been Wairoa's lot, however, attracting the ire of deputy Mayor Denise Eaglesome Karekare who says the town needs to "stand up" and do something about it, but she's not sure what.

"For a lot of people (in towns and cities) getting on a bike is an option, but the Wairoa district is a vast place," she said.

"You can't just get on a bike every day and cycle from places like Tuai to Wairoa."

The area's plight is obvious in details compiled by Hawke's Bay Today which show that the 189.9 cents a litre being charged for Unleaded 91 Octane petrol in the town yesterday was 15 cents a litre more than the best prices in Hawke's Bay, the 174.9 cents per litre at pumps in Waipawa and Waipukurau.

Based on the most-common 55-litres tank, motorists would be paying $8.25 more for a tank of petrol in Wairoa than in Central Hawke's Bay.

Prices in Hastings in Napier ranged from 176.9 cents at five stations from Heretaunga St West to Omahu Rd, including Stortford Lodge, to the cheapest in Napier at 181.9 cents a litre and a twin-cities high of 187.9 cents a litre at Bay View.

Despite the higher petrol price, the Caltex station in Wairoa was charging a baywide low of 104.9 cents for diesel, the same as at Caltex Waipukurau.

Contacted yesterday by Hawke's Bay Today to comment on the high prices, Ms Eaglesome-Karekare said: "It's absolutely ridiculous, when you think of where Wairoa is on the deprivation scale."

She said it was even more difficult to understand when fuel that had passed through Wairoa on tankers was cheaper at some stations in Gisborne.

A survey last night showed prices in the Gisborne area ranging from 183.9 cents to 189.9 cents.

"They say it's the cost of freight, but that's bullshit," she said.

"It's people taking advantage of our situation. They make the money out of the poorest people. It doesn't add up. We're just in the middle. We've got a big farming community and, obviously, they would use a lot of fuel.

"It's time Wairoa took a stand," she said. "I'm not sure how we would make a stand, but it's not a good thing."

Petrol prices throughout the country have dropped about 40 cents a litre in the last three months. The Automobile Association at the start of October quoted the price for 91 Octane in the main centres at 221.9 cents per litre.

One service station attendant in Napier-Hastings yesterday said he understood the "market" price to be about 181 cents, but the "majors" have "pricing support" schemes in place to enable stations to compete in the "war" with other stations nearby.

Discount schemes such as those offered by supermarkets or with the AA's Smartfuel card mean some motorists yesterday had prices under $1.70 a litre.

"The amount it's come down just shows someone's clipping the ticket along the way," he said.