Title:Darwin motorists paying 10 cents per litre more than they should be, ACCC report shows

A report by the competition watchdog has found Darwin motorists are spending 10 cents more than they should per litre of petrol.

澳大利亚消费者组织的一份报告发现，达尔文驾车者每升汽油消耗比其他地方多0.1澳元。

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the region's petrol prices had increased significantly and were above a long-term competitive cost-based price due to a lack of local competition and higher retail margins.

澳大利亚竞争和消费者委员会说，由于缺乏当地竞争和较高的零售幅度，该地区的汽油价格大幅上涨，而且高于以成本为基础的长期竞争价格。

In the March 2018 quarter, average retail prices in Darwin were 147.1 cents per litre, with the city only narrowly beaten by Hobart for the highest price by less than 1 cent per litre.

2018年3月季度，达尔文的平均零售价格为每升147.1澳分，霍巴特以最高价格只以低于1%的价格对市进行打压。

Living in Australia's smaller cities results in higher prices, with fuel costs in Canberra, Hobart and Darwin always higher than those in larger cities, such as Sydney and Brisbane, with the average difference about 13 cents per litre.

在澳大利亚较小的城市生活导致价格上涨，堪培拉、霍巴特和达尔文的燃料成本总是高于诸如悉尼和布里斯班等大城市，平均差异约为每升13美分。

The report also found that Darwin's average petrol price in December 2017 was the highest in Australia, at 148 cents per litre, almost 13 cents more than Australia's cheapest in Sydney.

报告还发现，2017年12月，达尔文平均汽油价格在澳大利亚最高，每升148澳分，比悉尼最便宜的价格高出近13澳分。

"Along with housing and food, transport is one of the top three areas families need to budget for," NT Council of Social Services policy advisor Jonathan Pilbrow said.

北部地区社会服务政策顾问乔纳森·皮利姆(Jonathan Pillime)说：“交通与住房和食品一样，是家庭支出最多的三大领域之一。

"Being able to put fuel in your car is critical to employment, training, getting to health services, education as well as social connection."

能够将燃料放在你的车里，对就业、培训、获得医疗服务、教育以及社会关系都至关重要。

The burden of isolation contributed to the higher prices, including a lower level of competition, less fuel sold, distance and location factors and lower convenience store sales.

孤立的负担促使价格居高不下，包括竞争水平低、销售燃料少、距离和位置因素以及销售便利性较低。

The ACCC found within regional areas, these factors vary significantly, with the possibility a more modern petrol station in a better location could decide to charge higher prices for fuel.

这些因素在区域范围内有所不同，加空委发现更现代化的加油站可能决定收取较高的燃料价格。

The Council for Social Services in the Northern Territory wants to see the NT Government giving those on lower incomes discounts for other expenses, such as electricity bills.

北部地区社会服务委员会希望北方政府为那些低收入者提供其他开支折扣优惠，例如电费。

"Some things are outside the control of the government, it could be global fuel prices," Mr Pilbrow said.

皮洛梅说：“有些事情不在政府控制范围之内，可能是全球燃料价格。

"It is important for government to think outside the box when it comes to easing cost of living pressures on Territorians."

“在缓解对领土人民的生活压力方面，政府必须从禁区外思考。

The report found the greater range of prices suggested that a motorist's decision about where to buy petrol was more important than it was 10 years ago, but when it came to the effectiveness of the Territory's fuel price reporting scheme the praise was limited.

这份报告发现，价格走高表明，一位驾驶员决定去哪里买汽油比十年前更重要。但当谈到领土燃料价格报告制度的有效性时，赞扬程度有限。

"The MyFuelApp is an opportunity for increased transparency and that should be welcomed, but looking at the data it has actually shown that prices haven't gone down," said Mr Pilbrow.

皮洛瑞德说：“富尔苹果是提高透明度的机会，值得欢迎，但看看它实际表明价格没有下跌的数据。

Petrol prices increased significantly prior to the introduction of MyFuelNT in November 2017 and stayed high, only decreasing by 2 cents per litre to 147 cents per litre in March.

石油价格在2017年11月引入《石油燃料图》之前大幅上涨，保持了高位，3月份只有每升2美分降至147美分。

"The NT Government brought out this petrol app last year and its made no difference and the main reason why is that we have a duopoly we have basically two companies, Puma and United, running fuel in the Darwin region and there's only one independent that sells fuel cheaper," said independent Member for Nelson Gerry Wood.

“北大西洋政府去年推出了这款汽油应用软件，它没有区别，主要原因是我们基本上有两家公司，即Puma公司和United，Nelson Gerry Wood的独立成员说：“在达尔文地区运行燃料，只有一个独立单位出售更便宜的燃料。

Contact Dijana Damjanovic

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