The petrol pirates' propaganda people have been at it again. Despite all the evidence they and their allies in the motoring organisations are still trying to argue those of us in driving land are wrong and fuel prices are all kosher.
The normally conservative NT News said it best: "Fuel price rort a decade of lies."
Our car comrades up north are paying more for their diesel than anywhere else in Australia and the known universe. Chief Minister Adam Giles said: "I spoke to some fuel companies yesterday and expressed my concern to them and said we are not going to be in this position where every time the price gouging continues I have to make a phone call to you blokes to start dropping your price."
In Victoria "industry and motoring bodies" have expressed concern that motorists are being misled by petrol prices shown on servo price boards. That is when you see a huge sign saying "6 cents off" and you miss the small print that tells you the discount is only available with a shoppers docket.
Naturally this sort of switch and bait advertising is banned in NSW and South Australia. But the petrol pirates argue that if they had to change the signs the price of petrol would have to go up.
In 2012, a meeting of Australian and New Zealand consumer ministers was told 92 per cent of motorists "indicated that they check the price of fuel on the price board before they enter a fuel station". At the same meeting, they were told "a survey of over 800 respondents indicated that 54 per cent had driven into a service station expecting a certain price only to discover it was more expensive, including where a discounted price had been advertised".