Fill up with petrol in Kaitaia and save

Mobil fuel prices in Kaitaia this week. Photo / Peter Jackson

Far Northerners might be used to paying more than almost everyone else for any commodity that has to be carted into the district, but they might take some consolation from the fact that petrol prices still have a bit of catching up to do with some communities.

As of yesterday all three service stations in Kaitaia — BP, Z and Mobil — and BP Awanui, were selling 91 octane for 225.9 cents per litre. On Tuesday more than a dozen service stations, most of them in the South Island, were selling it at $2.29, while Waiheke Islanders were paying $2.51, and Great Barrier Islanders $3.05, as they had been doing for some time.

At the other end of the scale was Gull in Rotorua ($1.93), one of only four outlets covered by a national survey by NZME staff that was under $2.

When petrol prices climbed to new heights around the country earlier this week the NZ Herald asked NZME staffers to send photos of prices at the pump in their towns and cities to see how they fared, and scored more than 100 responses.

The previous record price at the pump was 227 cents, set in 2013.

The Automobile Association responded to the surge in prices by urging the government to cut 10c of tax off the price per litre immediately. Mark Stockdale said taxes, including excise of almost 60c per litre, made up a large chunk of the price at the pump, he said, something that he suspected many motorists didn't realise.

He called on the government to stop charging GST on that excise, which would reduce prices by 10c a litre. He didn't get a great deal of traction though.

Asked if the government would look at fuel taxes in light of the increase, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the focus was ensuring anti-competitive behaviour was not contributing to ratcheting up the price.

"That's exactly why we are beefing up the powers of the Commerce Commission, so they can do the market studies that identify what is actually going on here," he said.

"I think what New Zealanders need to know is that if there is anti-competitive behaviour going on that we will stamp down on that."

Meanwhile Consumer New Zealand suggested that high petrol prices could backfire on fuel companies if nothing was done to bring them down. Chief executive Sue Chetwin said fed-up motorists may simply opt for public transport, biking or walking if filling the tank up became too expensive.

"Prices going up so strongly is not good from a consumer perspective, but it might encourage people to think differently about their transport," she said, adding that she was in favour of a proposal to investigate collusion among petrol companies.

Ken Shirley, speaking for the Road Transport Forum NZ, predicted that 91 octane could be on its way to $3 per litre, although the so-called 'Gull effect' (cheaper petrol in areas where there was a Gull outlet) could be spread further across the country.

He also rejected the government's regional fuel tax, which will add 11.5c a litre to fuel for Auckland motorists from July 1, as "nonsense."

Z Energy spokeswoman Sheena Thomas told Newstalk ZB the price increases were a result of rising international prices. Oil rose to its highest level since 2014 last week after US President Donald Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and would impose new sanctions.