Shannon, who has undertaken the petition on behalf of the Men's Health car show, said the prices would hit people in the pocket in other areas too, as the cost of transporting supplies would affect prices at the supermarket checkout as well.
He said that would eventually have a ripple effect in families, increasing arguments and possibly incidences of family harm.
While the minimum wage had been increased, people would never see that increase in their wage.
"Because the food's going up, the petrol's going up - so whatever they get is gone."
Shannon said some people had suggested he join the protest in Wellington but he refused as he wanted to do it peaceably.
"You'd just get lost in that huge debacle that happened. Your voice doesn't get heard," he said.
He felt that with the rising fuel prices, certain choices were being taken away, especially in small towns like Dannevirke.
"Every New Zealander has the right be able to put petrol in their car and take the kids to the park. You can't now."
He said bigger centres had more choice as they could use the bus, but many small towns didn't have public transport.
"You're not going to get buses in Dannevirke. That's the reality of it."
Tony Shannon is hoping his petition will get the Government to investigate solutions for rising fuel prices. Photo / Leanne Warr
Shannon's petition on the parliamentary website had a little over 100 signatures and called for the House of Representatives to control petrol prices.
He said he also wanted the Government to look into reducing GST, not only on petrol but also on essential food items, such as bread, milk and fruits and vegetables.
"There's been an argument for years... [but] they say it's too hard."
One of his fears was that with the rising prices, the crime rate would go up as people would resort to stealing to get the necessities.
One service station owner said they did get a few petrol drive-offs a month but that was something that had been going on for some time.
A spokesperson for Z said the cost of fuel at the pump was made up of a number of factors.
"Pricing on the global market fluctuates daily, as can local competitive pressures, therefore Z continually reviews the range of input costs and market conditions daily and makes any changes (up or down) as and when we need to.
"Headline price rises have occurred around the country both as our key input cost - the price of crude oil - has gone up and we have seen record prices for carbon, as indicated by the most recent carbon auctions under the Emissions Trading Scheme."
The spokesperson said almost 70 cents per litre of petrol was collected by the Government in fixed excise and an additional 10 cents per litre in Auckland for the Auckland Regional Fuel tax.
On top of that was 15 per cent GST.
"In total, Z makes about 4 cents per litre profit."
Z understood that rising prices were extremely challenging for consumers.
"But we remain really concerned at the growing abuse retail staff are facing given they have the most interaction with consumers," the spokesperson said.
"While the majority of our customers are great, our teams have the right to come to work and should not be subject to physical or verbal abuse.
"Unfortunately, this seems to be an issue across all of retail and we support and promote wider dialogue with the community to help solve this problem."
Mayor Tracey Collis: We're living in a very tough time. Photo / NZME
Tararua District Council mayor Tracey Collis said people were having to change the way they think as fuel costs impacted many other things such as parks and reserves, as well as the price at the checkout.
That meant considering where they went and what they did.
"They're having to choose what they do with their money," she said.
Those choices meant paying bills and rents or mortgages over any kind of leisure trips anywhere.
Collis said the council was looking into the issue of a lack of public transport at a regional level.
She said it was a conversation that the council's regional transport committee had been looking into a few years ago but with prices going up it was time to revisit it.
Shannon said most New Zealanders would just complain but not speak up.
"I believe there's no use whinging about it if you can't do something about it."
His petition is online at https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_119689/petition-of-tony-shannon-on-behalf-of-the-men-s-health.
