Prices a pain in the bowser

Busselton Shire motorists are paying, on average, up to an extra $14 to fill up their fuel tanks compared to last year as prices reach a three-year high.

Picture by Becky Felstead: Tracey Clifford is not happy about the rise in fuel prices

Figures from the pricing watchdog Fuelwatch show Dunsborough motorists will pay on average $14.02 more to fill up with unleaded petrol compared with last October, with prices increasing to an average of $1.539 per litre.

Busselton motorists will pay an extra $13.20 at the bowser on last year’s prices, with the average unleaded price reaching $1.477 per litre.

The figures are based on an average 55-litre fuel tank.

Diesel prices have also increased, by an average of $10.23 per tank in Busselton and $10.73 in Dunsborough, with average prices hitting $1.481 per litre and $1.529 per litre on average respectively.

Fuelwatch’s Ray Gibson said fuel prices in the Busselton Shire were at their highest since October 2008, echoing the trend throughout WA, and were expected to keep increasing.

“Demand for oil has been strong and prices have remained high,” Mr Gibson said.

However, he said South West fuel stations had become more competitive in recent months, with Bunbury retailers keeping their prices 5c per litre cheaper than their Perth counterparts.

He said the move could encourage more competition further south and Busselton stations were already closing the gap on cheaper Perth fuel prices, reducing the difference from an average of 5c per litre to 2.7c per litre.

Regional areas like Busselton and Dunsborough are also exempt from Perth’s “price cycle” structure which sees prices fluctuate daily.

Busselton P-plate driver Tracey Clifford said the price of fuel had affected her travel plans since she received her licence recently.

“I think it’s silly, you can’t fill your car up as much,” she said.

LPG prices were the only fuel prices to decrease in the Busselton Shire, with prices decreasing an average of 2.1c per litre in Busselton in the past year.