Public debate about the price of fuel in Thames is spilling onto the streets, as fed-up consumers plan a protest march to air their grievances. But front-line staff at Thames’ petrol stations say some of the anger is being unfairly pointed at them. ALICE PARMINTER reports
Petrol prices have hit the spotlight in recent weeks, with locals keeping a running commentary online of daily prices since a local radio station first drew attention to the issue on July 4.
According to data from price-tracking app Gaspy, prices at Thames’ four petrol stations – Mobil Thames, Mobil Kōpū, BP 2go and Gull – have consistently been between 20 and 30 cents per litre higher than the national average.
The Commerce Commission is now investigating Thames’ higher prices at the pump, which protest organisers Goldie Anderson and Brendan Walsh said locals have been fed up with for years.
“I’m not doing this for myself, I’m doing this for all those pensioners and all those beneficiaries that are suffering because of the petrol price in Thames,” Brendan said.
“This has been going on for too long… so I put my hand up and I said, look, I’m going to do everything I can in my power to try and force the hand of these gas stations.”
Goldie agreed, saying once she realised Thames was getting “such an unfair deal”, she leapt into action.
“Something more needed to be done because we just weren’t being heard.”
Brendan said although he had noticed small drops at the pump over the past week, it wasn’t enough.
“We want to see them on par with everybody else,” he said.
“I have not filled up in Thames for a long time now. And I refuse to. Even if my tank was on E, I would go as far as possible to somewhere else before filling up in Thames. That’s how passionate I feel about the whole situation.
“These guys in Thames, they know what they’re doing, but they keep trying to come out with all these excuses trying to tell us why they’re trying to charge [more]. It all adds up. There’s no justification for what they’re doing.”
The protest is planned for August 3 at 11am. Goldie said participants would meet at Goldfields Mall, and march down Mary St and Pollen St towards Gull.
“It will be peaceful, we just really want to get some attention to the issue. All of the business owners that I spoke to were really encouraging it,” she said.
“They were hoping this would bring other business back to the town as well because I know a lot of people are going out of town to get their fuel at the moment and they’re also getting their groceries or anything else they need.”
Brendan encouraged participants to bring banners and posters along.
“The idea is to draw awareness for these guys overcharging for their petrol and gas. And to make them feel the pain. And hopefully while we’re there protesting, nobody comes in and buys petrol from that gas station, although we won’t be impeding anyone,” he said.
Managers at three of Thames’ fuel stations have refused to comment, deferring instead to the parent companies. Mobil Thames manager Sharon Drought could not comment on fuel prices, but wanted to draw attention to the treatment of her staff.
“We’re sick of being targets of something that we cannot help. My staff are upset because we get abused on the daily. We get called mongrels and cockroaches and all sorts of ugly things over the Facebook pages,” she said.
“It’s disgusting the way people are. Instead of going about it the right way and getting in contact with the people that supply our fuel – rather than thinking that abusing the people down the front line is a bit bloody terrible.”
Goldie said she did not condone the abuse of service station workers in any form.
“That is definitely not acceptable in any case, I would hate to think that anyone in our community would single out the workers. It’s not on them at all,” she said.
“We would like the business owners to address our concerns because once we could talk to them and explain, ‘drop your prices, you will get the customers back’, it will just make a happier working environment for the workers too I’m sure, not having to deal with that.”
Spokespeople for Mobil Oil NZ, BP Connect and Gull NZ all provided statements saying the Thames stations were independently operated, with prices set by their owners.
Attempts by The Profile to reach the owners of the stations have so far been unsuccessful.
A search of the companies register showed three of the four station owners also owned other petrol stations around the country, including in Matamata, Te Aroha and Waihī. Only one of the owners lives in Thames.
The Commerce Commission was looking into Thames’ fuel prices, it told The Profile.
“Since 1 May 2024, we have received 28 enquiries regarding fuel in Thames with high pricing being at the core of the issues raised,” a commission spokesperson said.
“We have recently written to fuel operators in the region, and their suppliers, to ask them to provide us with information to help us understand the reasons behind the prices we are seeing.
While we don’t have the power to set fuel prices, in a competitive market we would expect to see retail fuel prices reflecting the cost of supplying fuel to the pump.”
The commission said the companies have until mid-August to respond.
A petition from radio station CFM also urging the Commerce Commission to investigate fuel prices in the region has so far received over 1000 signatures.
Fuel price (91 unleaded, cents per litre) as at Monday morning: Mobil Thames, $2.879; BP Thames, $2.859, Gull Thames, $2.859; Mobil Kōpū, $2.879. Average price elsewhere: Tapu, $2.619; Ngatea, $2.753; Paeroa, $2.788; Waihī, $2.792; Whitianga, $2.759. National average: $2.677. Data from www.gaspy.nz.
