A service station in Melbourne’s south-east sold petrol for under a dollar per litre this morning to highlight the growing burden caused by the federal government’s fuel excise.
Between 10am and 11am today APCO at Cranbourne West sold unleaded fuel at 99.9 cents – a price not seen for almost 20 years.
Droves of motorists immediately swamped the servo, desperate to score themselves cheap fuel.
Jasmine told 9News she managed to fill the fuel tank of her V8 Commodore for the first time in a while.
“I can hardly drive this car,” she said.
“I drive it once a week now because I can’t afford to.”
Others planned ahead and arrived bearing jerry cans.
Pensioner Pauline was there to make the most of the cheap fuel, too.
“It’s ridiculous, I’m on a pension so you have to think, how much out of that pension fortnight have I got to spend on that fuel,” she said.
The stunt was courtesy of the Libertarian Party, designed to protest fuel taxes that now total 55 cents a litre.
“I think it really highlights that government is just gouging the prices of people so much, whether its through excise taxes and other taxes,” said MP David Limbrick.
“And I’m just wrapped that a small number of people are going to get this discount today.”
Peter Khoury from the NRMA said Melbourne’s average fuel price was currently $1.90 per litre, but questioned the message.
The numbers don’t add up, we look at average prices when we think about petrol prices,” he said.
“But we need the excise the money raised from the fuel excise should go into and does go into improving the roads and making them safer.”
