The full fuel excise has been reinstated and the price of unleaded petrol is starting to rise, causing anger among some Bendigo motorists.
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The fuel excise was halved to 22 cents a litre in March to relieve cost of living pressures, but the discount ended last Wednesday night.
In the lead-up to the reintroduction of the full excise, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said there were 700 million litres of lower excise petrol in storage which meant prices should not immediately spike.
"I have asked the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to maximise their role in the petrol market to make sure servos and suppliers are not treating Australians as mugs," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"The ACCC will be particularly attentive to the fact that it was bought under the cheaper price ... there should not be an automatic uptick.
"The ACCC and the government expect the price of petrol shouldn't shoot up at the bowser on Wednesday night by the full (amount) if the normal market pressures are in operation."
However, one Bendigo motorist contacted the Bendigo Advertiser citing the exact opposite.
He asked one service station in particular to "please explain to their loyal customers why they lifted their petrol price by 22 cents a litre late Wednesday afternoon, well before the excise was due to expire at midnight".
"This would appear to be a blatant breach and total rip-off of the motorists," the motorist said.
"The other three service stations nearby were still at the old price the next day."
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Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottleib said the watchdog was tracking price increases daily in all capital cities and at over 190 regional locations.
"If we see a rise that is other than we expect, we will certainly report it so that motorists know," she told ABC radio on Thursday.
"If we see an extreme rise, we will not only refer to the location, we will refer to the actual chain or service station that is doing so, so that motorists basically know to avoid them."
The price of unleaded petrol at most service stations in Bendigo rose marginally over the weekend.
However, bigger price rises are expected in the coming weeks as supplies of the discounted fuel are used up and replaced by the petrol containing the full excise amount.
With AAP
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