It’s a surprising win for motorists that Maitland had the cheapest unleaded petrol in the state, on average, last week.
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There have been complaints for years from motorists who have filled up their vehicles in the Maitland area only to find that the same product is 10 or sometimes 20c/l cheaper only half an hour down the highway in Newcastle.
The NRMA has told the Mercury repeatedly that there is no legitimate reason for Maitland motorists to be paying so much for fuel.
After the Mercury approached the petrol price watchdog last month, NRMA officials met with the data collection agency that measures fuel prices across the nation to suggest that Maitland be named as its own category on the weekly price watch list.
Given the often large price difference between Maitland and Newcastle, and the fact that there are about 170 petrol stations in the steel city, there were serious questions about whether Newcastle’s cheaper prices were dragging the Lower Hunter’s average down and painting a deceiving picture for motorists.
Last week, in only the second time that Maitland made a solo appearance on the price list, the city recorded 123.7c/l – the cheapest average price for unleaded fuel in the state.
NRMA president Kyle Loades credited the drop to publicity given to the unreasonably high cost of fuel in the Hunter in recent months.
The challenge, now, is to keep up the pressure so that petrol station operators in Maitland don’t begin to lift their prices again.
The addition of Maitland as its own category on the weekly price watch list is a key step in keeping that pressure on.
Now motorists will be able to see more clearly whether they are being ripped off and respond accordingly.
