Gisborne retailers’ petrol ultimatum

Press, 11 July 1980, Page 3

Gisborne retailers’ petrol ultimatum

PA Gisborne Angry’ Gisborne petrol-sta-tion owners intend to raise the price of petrol themselves by 2c a litre next Wednesday, if the Government has not raised resellers’ profit margins by that deadline. They want to emphasise the point that a better margin for selling petrol is long overdue, but believe that their proposed action is preferable to shutting down their pumps to the public, who would then bear the brunt of the protest. The station owners are fully behind the decision to give the Government until Tuesday to come up with a better profit • margin. They will meet again on Tuesday evening with a view to making an immediate increase in price. The Gisborne branch of the Motor Trade Association has decided to take the stand. Mr B. N. Kendrew, vice chairman of the petrol resellers’ committee, said that there was widespread dissatisfaction about the time taken to achieve a better margin. “We are down to 6.4 per cent, and it has dwindled away since 1973 when the margin was 11.2 per cent,” he said. “Dissatisfaction exists throughout New Zealand — and we first discussed action in February. Six months have passed since then, with two petrol price rises in that period, but no increase in margins,” Mr Kendrew said. The 2c increase that may be added on Wednesday will take margins to 9.8 per cent, close to the target of 10 per cent sought within the industry.