There have been queues at many service stations, as motorists fill their tanks before the price of petrol goes up this weekend.
The Government temporarily cut Fuel Excise Duty by 25 cents a litre in March last year, along with similar cuts to road user charges for diesel drivers. The subsidies were aimed at helping ease cost of living pressures on New Zealanders.
The assistance was halved in April, with the Government removing all subsidies from Friday night. That'll see the price of petrol increase by around 29 cents per litre on Saturday morning, once GST and other markups are included.
The popular Gaspy fuel app reports the current average price for a litre of 91 is $2.35, $2.55 for a litre of Unleaded 95 and $2.68 for Unleaded 98.
The fuel discounts were initially introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lead to a spike in fuel prices, which had a flow-on effect for all goods due to transport costs. But the Automobile Association say the upcoming pain at the pump won’t be as severe as just over a year ago when petrol prices were at an all-time high, passing $3 per litre for 91 octane.
- Geoff Sloan, Public Interest Journalism Fund
