Menu Close

Articles on Petrol prices

Displaying 21 - 37 of 37 articles

Can you save time and money with a half-filled fuel tank? Flickr/Michael Coghlan

Can you save money at the bowser by only half-filling the fuel tank?

Fuel prices may be at historic lows at the moment but when they rise again, what is the best strategy to save money at the bowser? There are many suggestions for saving money such as when and where to…
Economic modelling suggests raising fuel taxes could get cars off the road - and therefore save lives. Khongkit Wiriyachan/Shutterstock

Increasing fuel taxes could save thousands of lives worldwide

Road safety is a seriously important public policy issue. Around 1.3 million people die in road crashes around the world each year. Among teenagers and young adults, road crashes are the number-one cause…
Australia’s corporate regulator wants to tackle what it believes is collusion in the petrol industry, but court action to date hasn’t really succeeded. AAP/Lukas Coch

Fixing the fixers of petrol prices is no easy task

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest foray into the difficult and politically charged arena of petrol pricing is just the latest in a long running saga that is unlikely to be resolved…
A cheap or costly drop? You might be surprised to find out how Australian taxes on petrol compare to overseas. AAP/Andrew Brownbill

FactCheck: do Australians pay high petrol taxes?

UPDATED ON TUESDAY 22 JULY: See editor’s note below for details on the updates. In this year’s federal budget, the Abbott government moved to restart automatically increasing the fuel excise in line with…
Motorists can expect higher petrol prices in 2014…and beyond. David Crosling/AAP

No petrol price reprieve for motorists this year

Australia’s cost of living is among the highest in the world, despite our low inflation rate. In this series we explore what consumers can expect from the big ticket items - petrol, power and groceries…
Costco is looking to expand its US petrol business to its Australian stores. lokeswari/Flickr

Costco’s entry into petrol is unlikely to help most consumers

In a new twist in the long-running Australian petrol wars, Costco is preparing to join the discount petrol market. Sydney’s second Costco outlet, scheduled to open later this year, will reportedly sell…
Legally, it would be extremely difficult to prove shopper docket fuel discounts are anti-competitive. Michael Welsh via Flickr

Are shopper dockets anti-competitive? Good luck proving it

A curious feature of the election campaign to date has been the lack of focus on competition and consumer policy. Generally this subject rates highly, as parties try to curry favour with consumers and…
Increasing the cost of petrol won’t wean people onto more fuel efficient cars. Chris Murray

Higher tax proposal only adds fuel to efficiency debate

New research by economists from the Australian National University claims that if petrol excise duty were linked to inflation, Australians would drive less and buy more fuel-efficient cars. But higher…
If petrol prices are relatively low, why worry about burning the stuff? David Neubert

Gas guzzlers fuelled by shrinking petrol tax

An iron law of economics is that people respond to incentives. If the petrol price goes up, it should be of little surprise that consumers alter their choices at both the petrol pump and the car dealership…
Proving that Woolworths and Coles engaged in unconscionable conduct with their suppliers will be a lengthy and difficult task for the ACCC. AAP

ACCC grocery inquiry will take a long time to bear fruit

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has declared open season on Coles and Woolworths. In an unusual step, the ACCC’s chairman, Rod Sims, discussed his organisation’s current investigations…
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep the cash rates unchanged tomorrow: but prominent economists say the case for a cut may be firming. AAP

Hold ‘em: but case for interest rate cut strengthens

CAMA’s Shadow Board, which gives its views ahead of the decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia, continues to support the current setting of the cash rate at 3.5%. But economists are seeing a greater…
Australia’s energy security will fall again after Caltex’s decision to shut its Sydney plant at Kurnell (pictured), but the Federal Government is yet to have a coherent stance on domestic refining capacity. AAP/Mick Tsikas

Oil-slick politics: Canberra slippery on refinery shutdowns

Last week, Caltex decided to close its Kurnell refinery in Sydney. This closure follows a recent decision by Shell to close its refinery at Clyde in Sydney and it will leave the city without any oil refineries…

Top contributors

More