A leading Australian motoring association has called for an investigation into petrol price cycles with high fuel costs continuing to add onto cost of living pressures.
Analysis from the NRMA on petrol prices found that Australia's three most populous cities were among the most expensive, with Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne only just ranking behind Canberra.
Canberra motorists paid an average of 196.3 cents per litre for regular unleaded petrol in 2024 and Brisbane in second place had an average price of 195 cents per litre.
Perth remained the cheapest of all the capital cities for the second year running, with motorists there paying an average of 181.4 cents.
In the rest of the nation, petrol was on average close to 15 cents more expensive, adding about $426 to the yearly bill for an average family, according to the analysis.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported “significant falls in electricity and automotive fuel prices” in its last consumer price index data but the NRMA says part of the reason for higher prices overall was longer price cycles, with prices steadily decreasing for a period before sharply rising.
These cycles have prompted the association to call on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to add petrol price cycles to its list of recent cost-of-living inquiries, including supermarket pricing and aviation fares.
The NRMA said an immediate investigation is needed into the impact price cycles have had in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, which should have the most competition but have some of the highest prices.
Queensland's transport minister Brent Mickelberg supported the call, saying that an ACCC inquiry “may deliver some of those real solutions".
“We stand willing and able to support the federal government if they choose to go down that path,” Mickelberg said.
