‘With the end of the demand for petrol in sight, if I were a fuel company, I’d be raising prices now, while I can still get away with it.’
Upon hearing the above statement, I first smirked them shook my head at the rapacious nature of international commerce.
‘Across New Zealand some towns are experiencing unprecedented rises in the cost of fuel.’
Upon hearing this statement, I was not surprised; the prophecy was simply being fulfilled.
I then afforded the issue additional consideration; ‘Maybe it’s not (just) the fuel companies trying to squeeze the last bit of money out of people’.
Like the cost of cigarettes, what does the New Zealand Government do when they want to vilify something?
I do wonder how much of this price increase has to do with fuel companies and how much is the result of increased Government tax…?
Thing is, the price of a barrel of crude oil has scarcely shifted – contrary to what one might assume, based on fuel price fluctuations across service station forecourts, the price of crude seldom undergoes dramatic changes – therefore, and service station collusion aside (let’s not discuss that because it’s very much an illegal practice so they obviously do not do it), there can be only one reason for the recent nationwide fuel price-hike.
Realistically, typical of a Labour Government, Jacinda has been throwing around money of late to an unnecessarily lavish extent so, obviously, like the ever-increasing cigarette tax and the drop in numbers of smokers but continuation in the medical care they require, the nation needs to recoup the money somehow.
Perhaps this is Jacinda’s way of atoning for the fact that she is offering her ‘incentive’ to future EV owners while existing EV owners receive nothing (other than the joy of driving an eco-friendly vehicle on our roads while paying no road tax as well as the knowledge that in three years I’ll have paid for my car in fuel savings alone).
I bought a Nissan Leaf on the 22nd of March 2019; the only incentive I needed was found in my own foresight – it would take me just three years to recoup the cost of the car thus pay back my bank loan.
There you have it; buying an EV, given the rising cost of fuel, is basic arithmetic.
Article by Tim Walker
Edited by Bay Six
Photography by Arth Mettick