Plenty of fuel?

Press, 14 August 1980, Page 1

Plenty of fuel?

PA Wellington Petrol, diesel, and fuel-

oil storage facilities are “bursting at the seams,” according to the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch). Almost 90 days supply of fuel was in storage throughout New Zealand compared with a low of 12 days supply after the Iranian revolution early last year, he said. But he defended the continuing ban -on week-end petrol sales. Port stocks had been below . the targeted 22 to 31 days supply until late last month and it was only now becoming appropriate for the Government to consider lifting the week-end sales ban, he said.

In March, ,1979, official figures showed that New Zealand had 402,000 tonnes of refined fuel stocks in storage, which was a record low. The official figure for March this year is 669,000 tonnes, while storage in June was 610,000 tonnes.

The Under-Secretary of Trade and Industry (Mr Allen) told Parliament yesterday that motorists were unlikely to have any respite from rising petrol prices through a cut in the Government’s duty on motor spirits. Mr W. Freer (Lab., Mt Albert) had asked why the Government had agreed to successive petrol price rises in spite of an assertion by the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr AdamsSchneider) that there was a case for less duty. Replying on behalf of the Minister, Mr Allen said there was no scope to reduce duty to compensate for the huge increases in the landed cost of crude oil’ In real terms the duty, which had remained at 12.7 c a litre for two years, had fallen.