I didn’t bother trying my luck for cheaper fuel in Mittagong as I knew it would be roughly the same price as it invariably is across Southern Highland fuel stations. 

I was on the Hume highway in Milperra one hour later and was quite shocked to find the price of fuel only 100km away. Fuel price at several large service stations including BP, Caltex etc was sitting around $1.33 a litre for 91 unleaded. 

How on earth could they mark up fuel 35 cents more and only be a maximum 1.5 hour drive for a semi trailer fuel tanker? 

Are Southern Highlands residents getting robbed blind? Is there fuel price gouging happening here? 

It seems the problem of high petrol prices in the Southern Highlands never goes away.

For years we have complained about the fact that we pay more in this region than almost anywhere else. I have experienced this first hand. I have purchased cheaper petrol on the South Coast and even further inland at Wagga on several trips over the years.

As a regular commuter to the Macarthur region I have made a conscious decision to plan my refuelling for when I am at Campbelltown, Narellan or similar. This is a sad decision I have had to make because I pride myself on shopping local – but my first priority is financial survival.

If I do have to fill up in the Highlands I will make every effort to support the independent operators at New Berrima or Robertson even though this means I have to travel a little out of my way to do so.

I believe that the only way we will ever stop the big fuel companies from gouging Highlands motorists is with a conscious protest – quite simply we need to turn away from them. We need to turn to the outlets that provide cheaper fuel options whereever and whenever possible, even if we have to go a little bit out of our way.

Only then will these big companies make the conscious decision to look after the potential Highlands customers. They can do it because they do it in other areas – at Goulburn, on the South Coast, in the Macarthur region. Highlands motorists deserve the same consideration.

Is it just me or is life getting more and more expensive?

It’s bad enough with the drought raising the price of our groceries and higher power prices. We continue have a ‘Highlands tax’ on our petrol. Why is this? 

Is it because we’re considered to be a ‘rich’ area and we can afford to pay more? 

A lot of us are living from pay to pay, or we're under financial stress for different reasons.

Why aren’t the petrol stations competing harder for our money?

Woolworths and Coles supermarkets fight hard for our money so why don't the petrol stations? Are they working together to keep the prices high? 

I’d like to see our politicians do more about this. They’re often quite happy to weigh in when it’s in the media, but we don’t see any results. Get up off your seat and fight for your electorate harder.

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