By Member for Springwood Mick de Brenni
Anyone who has filled up their car around Logan lately knows just how frustrating ever-changing fuel prices can be.
You might drive past a service station at Springwood on your way to work and see petrol selling for $2.20 a litre, only to find it’s jumped to $2.50 by the time you’re heading home.
That’s the same petrol at the same service station, but an extra $15 to fill a 50L tank.
When you’re juggling a mortgage, rent and groceries, these random increases make budgeting even harder.
For a parent in Daisy Hill, the daily rush of school drop-offs, work and afternoon sport leaves little time to shop around for cheaper petrol.
If prices jump 30c/L during the day, you could pay another $15 simply because you couldn’t fill up earlier.
It’s a similar challenge for a small business owner at Loganholme running a small fleet of utes to service customers across the region.
When fuel prices rise sharply, that’s money that could otherwise go towards new equipment, employing another apprentice, or offering a more competitive deal to customers.
According to RACQ, Brisbane recorded Australia’s highest average capital city petrol prices for three consecutive years, which is why we’ve been advocating changes to fuel pricing for about the same time.
In 2025, retail margins averaged 22.5c/L, compared with 11.7c/L in Perth.
RACQ modelling suggests changes to fuel pricing rules could reduce average prices by around 23c/L, potentially saving families $11.50 on a 50L tank.
Over a year, those savings could make a real difference.
That’s why we’ve introduced the Transport Affordability Amendment Bill into Queensland Parliament to make petrol pricing fairer and more predictable.
Under the proposed changes, servos would declare the following day’s prices by 2pm, with no increases permitted during that day.
Increases between days would be capped at 5c/L, although retailers could still lower prices at any time.
For someone leaving home at Shailer Park in the morning, it would mean knowing what petrol will cost on the way home that night, without worrying about an unexpected price shock.
This is about recognising that transport isn’t an optional expense for most people in our community.
Whether it’s travelling along the motorway to work, getting the kids to school, running a business or catching the bus, affordable transport is essential to everyday life in Logan.
Giving you greater certainty over your transport costs is one practical way to help you keep more of your hard-earned money.
Each week, MyCity Logan publishes a range of columns to help connect readers to elected representatives and community leaders. Opinions are not necessarily those of this publication.
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