“If we still had a Prices Surveillance Authority, scrapped by the Treasurer in 1999, we would most likely not be experiencing the pain at the pump we are experiencing now,” VACC Executive Director David Purchase said.

“We recognise that world prices per barrel have hit record highs and are not likely to fall significantly in the future. But the barrel price does not fully explain the prices we are paying at the pump.

“While motorists feel the pain, and independent fuel retailers make just a few cents per litre sold, oil companies are riding ‘high on the hog’ with record profits.

“No-one in this country, outside of the oil companies, can tell us what it costs to produce a litre of fuel. We suspect oil company profiteering, but who would know?

“The lack of transparency in relation to petrol pricing keep us all in the dark. Oil companies would be called to account if we still had a Prices Surveillance Authority. 
         
“The oil companies have been handed Australia’s oil resources on a platter. They act as if they own them.

“High fuel prices not only affect motorists, but affect consumer goods generally. Higher fuel prices means higher transport costs. 

“There are three things the Government must urgently review: it needs to review its tax take on fuel; it needs to review world parity pricing; and it needs to put the oil companies - and the powerful duopoly carving up the market - under the microscope.

“Motorists should not be milked mercilessly every time they go to the pump,” Mr Purchase said.