Cut to fuel excise sees prices slightly drop in Geraldton, as Cook Government moves to strengthen FuelWatch

Fuel prices in Geraldton have eased but the immediate future is still uncertain as war in the Middle East continues to impact fuel supply and affordability. The lingering pain at the bowser comes as the State Government intends to force all regional WA retailers from May 1 to report their prices to FuelWatch and quadruple the fine to $4000 every time they fail to do so. Motorists might have started feeling hopeful in the lead-up to and over Easter, as prices at the pump decreased slightly since the fuel excise was halved last Wednesday. The halving of the fuel excise started on April 1 and will run for three months to June 30. Geraldton’s average fuel price on Friday was $2.39/litre, and had dropped to $2.33/litre on Monday. The cheapest fuel in Geraldton on Monday was $2.19/litre at Atlas Fuel Geraldton, which had dropped by 20¢ over the weekend. Friday’s fuel price at the station was $2.39/litre. Geraldton’s most expensive fuel was Maisey Fuels Flores Road, which had its petrol priced at $2.68/litre, which hadn’t changed in price since Friday. The majority of servos in Geraldton — nine out of 16 — were priced between $2.20/litre and $2.30/litre on Monday. The price of diesel had risen slightly over the weekend, with an average price of $3.11/litre on Friday compared to $3.13/litre on Monday. Notably, Shell Reddy had jumped from $2.98/litre to $3.09/litre. The cheapest diesel in town was $3.01/litre at BP Geraldton, which had remained unchanged from Friday. Moonyoonooka Store had the priciest diesel in town, at $3.37/litre, remaining the same over the weekend. NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury warned that Australians were not out of the woods when it came to fuel prices, saying they could still rise despite measures like the excise cut. “Some service stations have fallen in their prices, and that’s because the cut to the fuel excise is starting to get passed on, which is great news,” he said last week. “Unfortunately, we don’t have great news about what’s going on overseas. Everyone wants this war to end so that prices will go back to normal.“ The vast majority of Geraldton fuel stations still had supplies of petrol and diesel on Monday, which should reassure those travelling through town for the holidays. Walkaway General Store remained out of petrol and diesel, while Shell Geraldton Truckstop had no diesel and United Rangeway Truck Stop and S-Bend Caravan Park were out of fuel on Monday morning. Across the State, 24 service stations were dry, a drop from 27 last week. Energy Minister Chris Bowen reminded Australians on Sunday that fuel issues would be around for the long haul. “Even if the Strait of Hormuz opens tomorrow, there’s going to be impacts for quite a while for the world to recover,” he said. “There’s been gas fields and production facilities bombed. They take five years to rebuild, for example. So there’s going to be some impact.” WA remains at level one yellow alert under the State hazard plan for energy disruptions. Last week, the State Government announced it would be invoking emergency legislation to force fuel providers to be transparent about their supply chains. The emergency powers are granted under the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act 1972, and are consistent with nationwide plans to access data about fuel supply. On Sunday, Premier Roger Cook announced plans to strengthen FuelWatch. From May 1 it will be compulsory for all outlets across WA to report their prices, with a $4000 fine for every time they don’t. The Government will also move to make it compulsory for all fuel retailers in WA to advise FuelWatch when they run out of any type of fuel — submitting that information currently is voluntary. Currently, all service stations in the Perth metropolitan area are required to notify FuelWatch of their fuel prices for the next day by 2pm, and the fuel price must stay at that notified price for 24 hours. But the rules don’t apply for all regional areas, with just 80 per cent of country WA having to notify FuelWatch of prices.