Petrol-price rise accepted

Press, 20 December 1978, Page 6

Petrol-price rise accepted

News of a rise in the price of oetrol next y ear raised few eyebrows in Christchurch yesterday. “It had to come,” said a spokesman for the Canterbury branch of the Motor Trades Association. Mr P. Buist. A proposed 14.5 per cent increase in the price of oil by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably mean an tr :rea»e in the New Zealand wholesale price of petrol of 1c a litre Mr Buist said that when the increase came, he hoped the Government "does something for our members.” The Motor Trades Association represented about 400 service-

■ station and garage pro-! r prietors in Canterbury. Mr Buist said the petrol retailing industry had an api'plication before the Govern-i . ment for a rise in its profit • margin. At present the margin was 7.5 per cent, t! “It used to be 10per cent. I 1 which was quite reasonable.”' f said Mr Buist. “1 believe the - petrol side of a garage should ) pay for itse.lt” i I An increase in the price of: f petrol will not bring an in-, crease in Christchurch Transi port Board bus fares. 1 The eeneral manager of the . board (Mr M. G. Tavlor) said - the hoard had already budgeted for increased fuel costs " in the higher fares it would > introduce on January 8.

I The board now uses about! 2.8 M litres of diesel fuel a ’year. Mr Taylor said he was not! at liberty to say what the: board's annual fuel bill was. The board bought its diesel fuel at a special discount :rate. The Canterbury branch sec- . retary of the Road Transport Association ’Mr E. H. Wil-' ■ Hams) described the expected' petrol-price increase as an ' occupational hazard. Cartage firms would re- ■ cover the increased fuel costs ‘ through an increase in cartcage rates. The association re--1 presented about 400 carriers in Canterbury.

i Mr Williams said road carriers were concerned about I the users’ ability to pav inI creased canage rates. t He'Stiggested that the Gov- i ernment could cushion the ! effects of the petrol-price rise by absorbing most of the increase and passing on only < a small increase to the coun-|i try. “I think the Government: gets enough from netrol tax,' to do this,” he said. The. manager of Blue Star] Taxis (Mr K. Murphy) did not . know whether a petrol-price 'rise would mean an increase! tin taxi fares. “But I can say that the last; | two years have been fairly!, [hard ones for the taxi com-) 'panies,” he said. I